


wherever you go, i'm always with you

by sakradevi



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Canon Universe, Fluff, Getting Together, Interactive Fiction, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, dereality, fic adapted from my interactive discord game, oh my god shu is so in love with mika, ryuseitai... they are just a littole famiely..., traitor mika...? spy mika...? undetermined
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 53,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27741430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/pseuds/sakradevi
Summary: "C’mon. Can we… can we play?”“...”“Oshi-san?”“... Just one round.”Shu and Mika take a visit to an arcade after school. Little do they know what they're about to get into as an arcade game goes seriously wrong and Mika finds himself in a high tech world alone and without Shu by his side. He needs to figure out how to get back home and how to find Shu.AKA,the AO3 version of the text-based discord game I'm running in the Valk server. If you want to be able to participate/vote on the story progression, there are details in the notes at the beginning of chapter one!
Relationships: Itsuki Shuu/Kagehira Mika, Kagehira Mika & Sakasaki Natsume, Kagehira Mika & Sengoku Shinobu, unrequited Kagehira Mika/Sakasaki Natsume
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLOOOOOO and WELCOME to my next Big™ project :~) this is actually from an interactive cyberpunk au story I'm running in the valkyrieP server! basically i write like ~350 word segments of the chapter and then people can "vote" for what happens next based on the options i provide so it's really fun! if you want to join and participate in choosing what happens next feel free to join the server [here!](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) (also other people run interactive fics so you can participate in those too, or even host one of your own :D) also i really recommend reading it in the server since it comes with lots of fun graphics that i think make reading this a lot better, but if you prefer to read it in a fic format there's no harm in that as well :) 
> 
> anyways, i won't give ~too much~ information here other than this is a cyberpunk au for enstars and the only relationship that will 1000% happen is shumika. other characters *will* appear but other romantic relationships will be dependent on the player's choices. there also *might* be character death (NOT shu or mika, but other characters), but this is also dependent on what route gets chosen.
> 
> this story **will** contain discussions of dereality/depersonalization, so if that's something that makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason i really advise you to not read this--it might not be the story for you! **trigger warnings will be mentioned in the notes at the beginning of each chapter if they apply!**
> 
> but yeah! i'm not entirely sure how long this will be but my estimate is that this is going to be a minimum 50k word fic so i hope you guys enjoy it! stay tuned and if you want to participate while it's on going, feel free to come join me in the server! i will be opening up chapter 2 for plot decisions over the course of the next few days :)

“Nnnah, Oshi-san. We worked really hard today.”

“We sure did. We have a busy week ahead of us—I know that you have some exams coming up soon on top of the live show we have scheduled on Saturday,” Shu remarks, gripping the shoulder strap of his messenger bag tightly as the foot traffic on the sidewalk increases. “You need to make sure you’re focused on both. You can’t be an idol if you receive bad marks, you know.”

“Mmmnnnh, yeah. I know, I know. Ya don’t have t’remind me all the time. Seriously. I know what I gotta be focusin' on. 'm gonna do m'best t'focus on everythin' I needa do t'be the best I can fer Valkyrie," Mika begins, hands coming to rest on his forehead like a makeshift visor, blocking out the blinding light of the setting sun, Mika's attention now solely focuses on Shu. The chitchat of other passersby, the gentle hum of car engines running, and the sizzling sound coming from the grills of street vendors become nothing more than white noise. Without lifting his eyes from the busy street before him and a deep inhale to steady himself, Mika continues. "... And fer ya, too. I know how much this year's gonna mean fer ya, so 'm not gonna mess it up. Promise."

Without returning a word, Shu sighs. "... You worry too much about me."

"Nnnah, 'm not sure if it's worryin' or just lookin' out fer ya. Yer m'mentor, after all. I feel like I owe it to ya t'be right up t'yer standards. Besides, I wanna do it, too. I wanna be good, I wanna be a good idol, I wanna see Valkyrie grow. An' that can't happen if there's only one of us tryin' real hard, yanno? So 'm gonna give it m'all!" With a sudden burst of excitement, Mika pumps his fist in the air, a warm smile crossing his face being made only warmer by the faint afterglow of the setting sun above. 

Looking down at Mika, Shu can't help but return a fond smile, eyebrows loosening from their seemingly-fixed position in a scowl. 

"Precisely. Both of us will be working hard this year."

"Mhm!"

Their leisurely walk to the train station comes to a halt as the light of the crosswalk blinks from green to red and cars begin to move across the intersection in a flurry. Shu sticks his arm out, stopping Mika in his tracks and preventing him from accidentally walking into oncoming traffic (as he has done on more instances than Shu is comfortable counting). 

With a gentle puff of breath, Mika bounces off of Shu's extended arm and takes in the surroundings. This route is their usual walk home from school—passing by the city center on the way to the train station, getting to indulge in the extra twenty or so minutes it takes to get from Yumenosaki to the train station. Looking around the intersection are various buildings, including what look like some corporate offices, a hotel, some restaurants, and an arcade. As if a switch flicks in his mind, Mika's eyes light up with eagerness.

"Hey, Oshi-san! Since we're gonna be workin' super hard fer the time bein', why don't we take a lil' breather an' just relax before gettin' all stressed this week with all of our responsibilities? Could be a good way for us t'bond, too." Mika begins, looking up at Shu with a glimmer in his eyes. 

"... Well, we certainly have a lot to focus on. It's dangerous to get too sidetracked, but one brief excursion couldn't hurt too much. It's good for the mind and body to take breaks, anyways," Shu replies, moving his arm from Mika's front to instead push some of his hair out of his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Yeah! Alrighty! So, I was thinkin’ that we could maybe go an’ get somethin’ t’munch on,” Mika suggests. Turning back down the street, a small, hole-in-the-wall takoyaki shop is sandwiched between the arcade and some other small businesses. Beaming up at Shu, Mika eagerly points towards the shop. “What ‘bout that place over there? ‘s a lil’ takoyaki shop. We could go an’ get a snack. Whaddya say?”

“Hmm… I’m not too sure about that,” Shu answers, glancing at his watch. It’s nearly 5 o’clock, which means one thing: dinner time _is_ soon. Resting a hand along his stomach, Shu applies a light amount of pressure. Though he hasn't eaten since earlier in the afternoon, he isn't hungry at the moment. "I think I'll have to pass on that. I'm not very hungry right now. Besides, we have food at home. Are _you_ in need of something to eat right now? I don't mind stopping to get you a snack but there's probably something else for us to do right now."

Dejected, Mika rubs the back of his head, hand now running soothing circles against his hair instead of pointing at his unsuccessful attempt to spend some more time with Shu. 

"Ah, no, 'm not _that_ hungry. So we don't have t'go there right now, but ya gotta promise t'make me somethin' really good when we go back home, kay?" Mika teases, sticking his tongue out in a playful manner. Shu rolls his eyes.

"You know I'm not that great of a cook."

"Eh? Whaddya mean? I love yer cookin' lots and lots! Like when ya make warm an' fluffy croissants, fresh outta the oven. Mmm, nnah, no. Gotta stop before I go an' make myself too hungry t'function." 

Well, back to the drawing board it is.

"Hmm... Well, if ya don't wanna go an' get some food, how ‘bout we go an’ visit that arcade over there?” 

Immediately after proposing this idea to Shu, the button on the crosswalk beeps and the streetcars in front of them come screeching to a halt. The mass of people around them, professional workers clad in suits and blazers while students don their respective school’s uniforms, blur the backdrop. But while the scene around them is ephemeral, Shu’s disposition is the same as ever. 

“No.”

“Wh—? Why not?”

“Do you _really_ need me to spell it out for you? One, it’s noisy. Two, arcades are _always_ crowded. I don’t like crowds—you know this already so there isn’t a need for me to go deeply into detail. Three, I couldn’t care less about arcade games; they’re a waste of time and energy and only serve to be frustrating for _everyone_ involved. Four, there are far better ways to spend the afternoon than wasting away inside a smelly, disgusting arcade, touching metal machines that everyone else has already laid their fingers on. Goodness, they’re so unsanitary, they probably haven’t been washed by the maintenance staff in—”

“Nnnnh, Oshi-san,” Mika whines, cutting off what is clearly divulging into a tirade about public sanitation. Pouting, he looks up at Shu, whose trademark scowl is resting upon his face. “Are ya really just gonna shoot down all of m’ideas? Yer not even givin’ ‘em a chance.”

“I’m not _trying_ to. You just keep suggesting things that I have no interest in.” Sighing, Shu shakes his head back and forth. “Really, I’m not trying to be picky. I honestly _do_ think it would be good for us to… spend some time outside of school and idol work together. I just… sorry. It’s difficult for me to connect with others. It’s like I’m in my own world. Sorry for being difficult.”  
  
Well, Mika certainly wasn’t expecting this. A slight blush dusts his cheeks at Shu’s omission of wanting to spend more time together. It’s a good thing the orange-pink glow of the sun is facing Mika. Having Shu notice his embarrassing blush isn’t something at the top of his priorities right now. 

But, getting to spend some time with Shu _is._ And Mika is nothing if not determined to get what he wants. He won’t let another suggestion be thrown away so easily.

“Ah! Well, ‘s fine, Oshi-san. Ya don’t have t’worry ‘bout things like that. I know ‘s hard fer ya. ‘m here fer ya,” he comforts, reaching out to gently place his hand on Shu’s forearm. Surprisingly, Shu doesn’t flinch or make any sudden remarks about being touched. Good. This is progress. “ ‘sides, look over there. The arcade looks mostly empty. Guess everyone just wants t’go home today or somethin’. Maybe it would be good t’just try it out? An’ if we’re there fer five minutes an’ yer still uncomfortable, we can just leave and go home. I promise.” 

At Mika’s touch, Shu visibly relaxes, calming down from his earlier rant. Still, the idea of going to the arcade isn’t something he’s expressly comfortable with. Head glancing towards the direction of the arcade, Shu takes in the sight. True to Mika’s words, it _does_ look relatively empty—no more than a handful of people playing some of the arcade games. A particularly bored attendant sits slumped at the counter, head resting in her palms as she stares at the glass case below her. 

Definitely not an energetic or lively scene.

Shu can work with this. 

Though he doesn’t voice anything to Mika. Thinking, calculating, weighing his options in his mind. 

“Please?” Looking up into Shu’s violet eyes are two different colored orbs, glowing bright like the sun dipping below the horizon in front of him. Pleading, _begging,_ almost. 

“Hm.”

“Oshi-san, _please?”_ Mika asks again, this time with more urgency in his voice. Puppy dog eyes continue to bore into Shu. “C’mon. I’ll be right there by yer side so ya don’t feel scared or nervous or anythin’ like that.” 

A sigh escapes Shu’s lips as his fingertips come to rest against his forehead, his head weakly shaking back and forth.

“Fine. But I don’t want to be there too long. We can spend some relaxing time together once we’re at home since I did agree to take some personal time for the two of us today.”

“Yay!” Let’s go, let’s go!” Reaching down, Mika grabs the end of Shu’s blazer and tugs him forward, propelling him in the direction of the arcade.

Stepping away from the curb, Mika leads Shu into the arcade. As they get closer, it becomes increasingly clear that his eyes did not deceive him when he was sneaking looks into the arcade’s interior from the crosswalk—there are only a handful of visitors and a single, bored employee sitting at the prize counter. As the duo makes their way into the building, Shu shoots her a look of pity. She’s probably not getting paid anywhere near enough for having to deal with the general populace all day. 

“See what I told ya? ‘s not too busy at all. An’—oh! Look! Here, here,” Mika chants out, pointing to an inconspicuous hand sanitizer dispenser attached to one of the columns near the entrance. “Here, Oshi-san, use this. They’ve got hand sanitizer so ya don’t have t’worry ‘bout gettin’ any germs or anythin’.”

Oh, thank goodness. It’s not _perfect_ by any means, but it’s better than nothing. Pressing his hand against the pump, a generous amount of the clear liquid squirts onto his hands. Putting his hands together, Shu rubs the sanitizer all over his hands. Already he can feel himself calming down and becoming just a bit more comfortable in this unfamiliar environment. Even this small action makes him feel at ease because it provides Shu with some semblance of control over his environment—something that he’s been struggling to cope with for months. Mika mirrors Shu’s actions, letting out quiet, gentle reassurances while doing so.

Once Shu’s situated, Mika looks up and examines the interior of the arcade. The space isn’t large, but it’s a decent medium-sized arcade. The front wall nearest to the entrance is lined with retro games. Though the machines look like they haven’t been upgraded since the ’80s, they appear to be functional. Further back in the center of the arcade are a few rows of claw machines with stuffed toys inside, waiting for someone to take them home. Leaning over to one side to look beyond the big claw machines is what appears to be several skee ball machines.  
  
Lifting a finger, Mika points to the center of the arcade in the direction of the large claw machines. One of the machines is stuffed to the brim with teddy bears of various shapes and sizes, immediately catching Mika’s eye. 

“Nnnah, Oshi-san, look! There’s a claw machine over there an’ there’s bears an’ stuff in it. Let’s go an’ try it out!” 

Not in the mood to be any more difficult, Shu agrees to the proposal without much difficulty. “Alright.” 

“Great! Let’s go then,” Mika sings out with excitement. Walking towards the claw machine with a spring in his step, completely unaware of the internal panic Shu’s engaged himself in.

… Never in his life has he used a claw machine before. He’s never seen the need for it—when he was younger, if he ever wanted a toy he didn’t have to work for it. So the game has never really appealed to him. Even as a teenager, arcades in general put him off so there haven't really been many instances where he’s even so much as set foot into one. 

So, Shu decides, during the walk of the 20 feet or so it takes to go from the entrance of the arcade to the claw machines is the _perfect_ time to have a crisis over not knowing how to play with a claw machine. Hell, he doesn’t even know what the buttons on the machine do. He’s probably going to end up breaking it somehow and then get roped into having to replace the entire system. Lunacy.

But seeing Mika so excited over the game? He _can’t_ say no to him. It would be cruel.

Plus, even he could admit that seeing Mika bounce and smile, eyes deadset on the prize, as they stood right in front of the machine is _kind of_ cute.

Actually, it’s _really_ cute. So cute that Shu finds himself zoning out and not hearing any words come from Mika’s lips until the smaller boy is waving a hand right in front of his eyes.

Snapping out of his infatuation, Shu looks down at Mika. “What?”

“Haha… erm, Oshi-san?” Mika asks, averting eye contact and instead opting to twiddle his fingers.

“What is it?”

“I don’t have any money.” 

Facepalm. 

Biting his tongue, Shu refrains from scolding Mika or asking him why he brought them here in the first place. Shaking his head back and forth, Mika is on the receiving end of Shu’s exasperated look. 

“Ahhnn, ‘m sorry…”

“Stop apologizing. Here,” Reaching into the messenger bag hanging off of his shoulder, Shu pulls out his wallet. A handful of coins are produced and offered to Mika. Shu expectantly raises his eyebrow, waiting for Mika to open his palms and accept it. “I have some spare change. We can play now.”

“Ah! Oshi-san, ya really don’t have t—”

“Kagehira, just take it,” Shu insists, nudging his handful of coins even closer to Mika.

“A-ah, alright…” Lifting his palms, Mika lets out a small squeak when Shu drops the coins into Mika’s open hands. “ ‘m really sorry fer bein’ so forgetful. One of these days ‘m gonna save up lots an’ lots of money from m’part time jobs an’ then I’ll be able t’treat ya too.” 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Kagehira. We can afford to spend a little bit of money outside of Valkyrie’s activities. As long as this doesn’t become a habit, we’ll be fine.”

“Mhm! Yeah! Thank ya muchly, Oshi-san!” 

All Shu can do is smile in return. Seeing Mika so happy is something he’d do anything to preserve, even if it means dropping all his spare change into a pseudo-gambling machine. It’s really no issue, though. Mika’s smile is worth the world.

Humming to himself, Mika bounces on his toes as he inserts the coins into the slot, clinking as the machine ingests them. 

“Nnnh, ‘ere. Since yer the one who paid, I think ya should be the one t’have a go at it first. Whaddya say?”

“I don’t know about that… I haven’t used one before and I think I might want to observe first before trying. That might be best.”

“Eh? Nah, I think the best way t’learn it is t’try it fer yerself. ‘s all ‘bout timin’ an’ gettin’ a feel fer the controls, so ya really gotta learn it hands on, yanno?”

Well… if Mika puts it like that, then Shu can’t really say no. He _knows_ that practice is the best way to understand something—this philosophy is the entire reason why Valkyrie’s dance rehearsals could be so long and intensive. Really being able to get into the dance steps is the best way to become a better dancer in Shu’s mind, so why shouldn’t that same logic apply to arcade games? 

And though Shu isn’t one that’s easily convinced to do things he doesn’t feel strongly towards, he _is_ rational when necessary. And right now, Mika is undeniably correct. Plus, he’s got a soft spot for his unit mate. 

He really, _really_ wants to win Mika a stuffed animal. Mika loves stuffed animals, so Shu rationalizes that winning him a prize will make him grow a little fonder towards him.

Right, of course. He’s logical. He’ll do anything to make him smile, even if it means temporarily putting his pride on the line for when it’s inevitable that he’s going to embarrass himself momentarily. 

“... I suppose you’re right. Fine, move over. I’ll try it.”

“Yay! I hope yer gonna win somethin’! There’s a cute pink one in the center stickin’ out there—d’ya see it? That one should be pretty easy fer ya t’grab. Go Oshi-san, ‘m gonna be cheerin’ ya on right here!” 

“Hmph. Alright. I’ll go for that one then. Wish me luck,” Shu spouts with an air of confidence. Though his demeanor portrays him in a certain way, the shaky fingers resting on the joystick and button tell an entirely different story. He doesn’t really know how the controls of this work, but… Well, he’s Shu Itsuki. He can figure this out.

Slapping the start button, the crane begins to move from one end of the pole to the other. It’s not nearly as slow as Shu expected it to be.

Uh oh.

“Ah!” He exclaims, smacking the button again _on accident,_ making the claw descend into the pit of fluffy bears. Markedly several inches away from where it was _supposed_ to land.

Shit. 

“Nnnh, Oshi-san, I don’t think ya were supposed t’—”

“I realize that now,” Shu replies in a bland tone, eyes glaring at the crane’s failed attempt to pick up a plush through the glass. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.” 

“Mmm, nope. But there’s always a next time. Ya can keep goin’ as long as ya wanna!”

“You sound like a gambling addict.”

“ ‘m not! But these games are really fun, ehehe~”

“Well, of course they are. They’re supposed to be addicted so you spend more money on them. That’s the entire purpose.”

“Nnh, I know, I know. But still. I really think yer gonna be able t’ pull it next time! Go an’ try!”

“... Fine.”

Pulling out some more coins from his wallet, Shu readies himself for round two. The claw machine greedily swallows his pocket change up. Looking into the glass, Shu’s scornful expression is reflected right back at him through the machine. On his side, Mika’s reflection is also visible through the glass as he looks over at Shu with a gentle smile, silently cheering him on. 

This time, he’s more determined than ever. There isn’t anything he hates more than losing, so he’s putting his all into this attempt. Plus, getting to see Mika cuddle a plushie that _he_ won for him? No matter how much money he has or how much or how much he spoils Mika with material goods, he can’t buy that smile. He has to earn it through perseverance, hard work, and _maybe_ some messing around with the machine.

The idea that crosses his mind is tempting. Maybe giving the machine a little shake or something, loosen it up. 

It’s not like he’s an expert on this game—maybe if he wants to see Mika’s happy face he’ll just have to gamble a little bit. 

But… on second thought, shaking the machine probably isn’t the best way to go about this. He’ll likely just wind up embarrassing himself in front of Mika and no matter what, that’s the one thing that he can’t have happen. The last thing Shu wants is to go back to square one—they’ve come so far since their hiatus, and now that they’re getting Valkyrie back… No. Now that _they’re_ getting back on their feet, Shu can’t risk ruining the delicate balance they have now.

They’re finally making substantial progress, not just as a unit but as individuals who spend a lot of personal time together, so Shu would like to _not_ throw all of their combined efforts into the trash because he can’t control his impulses. 

So, the traditional route it is. Hopefully this time won’t be a repeat of claw machine attempt number one.

Pushing the button, Shu prepares himself for another attempt. The pink bear is protruding in the center of the machine, more so than the other plushies. This shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Go Oshi-san! I believe in ya!” Mika cheers out with enthusiasm. Supporting Shu even through simple things like cheering him on from the sidelines during an arcade game is something that Mika hopes will brighten his mood and get him to relax himself. 

“Here I go,” Shu whispers, adjusting the joystick to position the claw at the same horizontal plane as the bear. His tongue sticks out in concentration as his eyes flip between the once again moving crane and the head of the bear. Once the claw is right above the bear, Shu slaps the button with more force than is necessary.

It’s too bad that he’s missed his target _again._

Letting out a groan, Shu hunches over the joystick, wriggling it back and forth but it’s of no use. The game has already locked in its final choice, leaving Shu in a dejected state while the crane mocks him as it fails to even grab onto any part of a plushie. 

Mika’s expression loosens, turning from an excited smile to a pitiful glance. 

In an attempt to comfort a visibly saddened Shu, through his failure to acquire a plushie, Mika pipes up with some soothing words. “Hey, ‘s alright. Ya can just try again! ‘m sure yer gonna get it next time! Yer m’Oshi-san, so there’s not anythin’ ya can’t do if ya don’t set yer mind ta it!” 

“Hmph… Thank you for your kind reassurances, Kagehira,” Shu replies, releasing his firm grip on the joystick as the “try again” message flashes in bright neon lights across the top of the machine. “But… tch… It’s no good. I don’t see the point in wasting any more of our time at this machine for now.”

“Ah, alrighty… ‘s fine by me!” Mika responds, giving Shu a soft smile to try and cheer him up. 

“Well, d’ya wanna try a different game then?” Cocking his head, Mika’s eyes look expectantly up at Shu, a wordless attempt to convey that he really _does_ enjoy spending time with him like this. Hoping that it won’t come to an end so fast. “There’s lotsa stuff t’do ‘ere, so we don’t have t’play the same game the whole time.”

“... Fine. I just want to stop attempting this game.” With a huff, Shu adjusts the strap of his messenger bag, pulling it flush against his chest. Almost defensively, as if the machine might attack him.

… With the way its neon is blaring right at him, it just might.

With a shrug, Shu’s eyes come to a close. The claw machine is left behind as he turns his head away and sticks his nose in the air. 

Eugh. Shaking his head, Shu averts his gaze and focuses his attention back on Mika. Mika, who’s looking around the arcade, preparing for their next move. 

“Hmm, looks like there’s all sorts of other games we can play. We passed some of ‘em on the way in, though,” Mika pipes out, taking a few steps away from the claw machine, heading even deeper into the depths of the arcade. With Shu following close behind, Mika leads the way further into the arcade. Pointing at some of the machines, it’s as if he takes the role of a tour guide for the run-down arcade. “Look, we could play on some of these old arcade games, or—ack!”

Clumsy as ever and hardly paying attention to his immediate surroundings, Mika’s hip collides with the corner of one of the crane machines on the way out of that row. 

"K-Kagehira! Are you okay?”

Immediately, Mika raises a hand to press against his forehead. Shu’s question is like white noise, blurring in with the static coming from the machines and the mindless chatter of the other arcade-goers. 

_Ow._

A dull throbbing makes its presence known in Mika’s head. It’s not incredibly painful, but it’s there enough for him to not be able to ignore it. Still, it’s not that bad where he can’t function or anything like that. There isn’t much he can do in this situation, anyway. With a shake of the head, Mika steadies himself and uses one hand to grip the edge of the claw machine for balance.

“Nnnh, yeah. ‘m fine. Don’t worry ‘bout me. Prolly just got a bruise or somethin’.”

“Sheesh… try to be more careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt,” Shu responds, concern clear in his voice. While saying this, he doesn’t look away from Mika for a moment, though he _does_ fight the urge to put an arm around him and help him steady himself. 

“Nnah. Thanks, Oshi-san,” Mika mutters, fingers now rubbing small, soothing circles into his temples. Right now, his mind is too cluttered to be able to truly express his appreciation for Shu, but his concern is appreciated nonetheless. Taking a step forward down the arcade, Mika opts to leave his “little accident” behind. “Yeah. ‘m fine. Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

Though somewhat unconvinced, Shu nods along anyway, keeping a closer eye on Mika as they continue through the arcade. 

“Alrighty. What was I sayin’? Oh. Yeah, we could go an’ play some old games, err…” Trailing off, Mika’s attention shifts to what was previous obscured from their vantage point at the arcade’s entrance. Around the corner from the claw machines is an entrance into a side room. There appear to be some newer arcade games, probably from the early ‘00s or so. 

“Or we could go an’ check those out?” 

Pointing towards the back room, Mika looks up at Shu with a quizzical look. The dull throb in his head is quickly forgotten as his attention flips between looking at Shu and trying to get a better peek into the previously unnoticed back room. The room is mostly dark except for the bright neon lights coming from above and the glow of video game screens standing out among the darkness. 

“Hmm… I don’t have any opposition to that. They look less _frustrating,_ that’s for sure. I don’t mind going and trying some of them out.”

“Mmm, alrighty. Let’s go an’ head over there already, then,” Mika suggests, tone less energetic than usual. Slowly, he begins to lead the way over to the room with Shu following close behind. 

As the pair approaches the back room, it’s clear that there appear to be no other people in the room. Not even a single staff member is in sight. _Weird,_ Mika thinks to himself, but shrugs it off as it being the middle of the week during rush hour—it’s really not the peak arcade time or season. Getting closer, bigger game installations come into focus, the most notable of which is a shooting game with two plastic guns attached to the console with a cord—one pink and one green. 

“Hey, Oshi-san. Those look pretty cool. I think we can win some tickets if we try that game over there with the guns, looks like it’s the centerpiece of this room or somethin’,” Mika mentions, trying to find a way to keep them both engaged but not terribly frustrated at their _apparent_ lack of arcade game skill. It’s just a simple shooting game. It can’t be too hard. Stepping through the doorway, Mika’s attention shifts to Shu, cocking his head to one side as if to ask a question. “Whaddya s—” 

_Hnnng._

Once Mika’s fully crossed through the threshold, the throbbing in his head is more uncomfortable and his headache is now accompanied by an initially sharp ring that flattens out and is quiet, but present, in his ears. Still, it doesn’t hurt—just a discomfort. 

“Kagehira? What’s wrong?”

Feeling a twinge of guilt at the concern he’s created, Mika waves his hand in front of his face as if brushing away all of his problems. “Ah, ‘s nothin’. ‘m fine. Really. Don’t worry ‘bout me. Let’s go play.”

Something is definitely off about Mika, but Shu can’t quite put his finger on it. So, he does the logical thing: go along with whatever Mika says so he can buy time to analyze whatever’s on his mind.

“Okay.”

Continuing forward through the back room, the light from the screen of the gun game is blinding. It’s powerful, too, with the way it’s drawing in Mika like a moth to a flame. 

Stepping closer, Mika— 

_ahhhghhhhgghHHHHHHHHHHHH_

He’s close. He’s so close. The screen is inches away, he can touch it if he just… if he just reaches out and— 

“Kagehira! What are you _doing?”_

Snapping out of his daze, Mika looks over at Shu. Except he doesn’t look like Shu. Vision a little blurry, throbbing becoming even more incessant, and ringing growing even louder, the image in front of him is distorted. Like he’s not there.

Like he’s not real.

Like none of this is real.

“ ’m… ’m…”

Stuttering, Mika looks around the arcade absentmindedly with a blank expression on his face.

“ ‘m just… ‘m…” 

“Kagehira, you’re stuttering. Is something the matter? You’ve been acting strange, and quite frankly—I’m worried about you. You’re not looking too good. Maybe we should go home.”

“NO.” 

Shu is visibly taken aback by Mika's tone—it’s far more harsher than he’s _ever_ heard from him.

It’s scary. Sends cold chills straight down his spine. 

Shu can’t shake the feeling that it’s not like Mika at all.

… No. Rather, it’s not _Mika._

“You… you’re _sure_ you’re feeling alright?”

“Oshi-san, ‘m fine. Ya worry too much. C’mon. Can we… can we play?”

“...”

“Oshi-san?”

_Throb. Throb. Throb._

“... Just one round.”

Shu picks up the pink gun. 

Mika smiles—feeling nothing but pure bliss as he reaches over for the green gun.

**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_ **

Picking it up, the gun is secure in Mika’s hands. It’s aimed directly at the screen in front of him.

Mika holds the gun steady in his hands. Taking in a deep breath, and then closing his eyes. Finger resting on the trigger, but not pulling it.

And in the instant it takes for him to fit the gun into his palm, the world around him fades out. From white, to static, to nothing.

As if there wasn’t ever anything there in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIII THANKS FOR READING this was a ride and all i can say now is that... The Plot Thickens
> 
> parts of chapter 2 will be coming in the server at some point later today so feel free to join if you'd like to have a say in what happens next or discuss your theories! :D 
> 
> if you like my content please consider supporting me!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sakradevi) | [my other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/works) | [valkyrieP discord server](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) ☆彡


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mika "wakes up" and then gets some more answers. but in all honesty, he has more questions than answers by the end of all of it.
> 
> natsumika partners in crime (?) shenanigans below! plus lots of worldbuilding. feel free to drop your theories in the comments!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOO THIS WAS SUPER FUN TO WRITE I HAD SO MUCH FUN DOING THIS!!! as of writing this at 10:30pm on 11/28/2020 the discord game for this fic is still ongoing!! chapter 3 has an outline in my notes and i'll be starting it tomorrow and i *expect* it to last a handful of days before it comes to a conclusion. [click here](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) if you'd like to be able to vote in the plot developments, i usually post about 300-800 word fragments of the chapter at a time and then give you guys some options to pick from =)

_ Where am I? _

_ No… _

_ More importantly… _

_ Who am I? _

Blinking once, twice, then three times. Vision clearing—changing from nothing, to black, to all the colors, before coming to a rest with the glaring iridescent neon light fixtures in front of him.

Finally, with his vision adjusting, the world around him is now clear. Eyes opening wide, in front of him lay the nearly blinding lights of the city in front of him. The walls of the dark and almost falling apart arcade Mika once found himself in are no more. Even more so, the pounding in his head is gone. Almost as if the discomfort he was feeling earlier is nothing more than a distant memory, surely slipping out from his fingertips if he even tried to reach for it. The smells of old carpet and dusty machines are replaced by the scent of diesel drifting through the air. Grimacing as he inhales, Mika finally lets out a gasp at the world in front of him. 

Focusing his attention and getting a better look at his surroundings, there’s a plate of glass immediately in front of him. Slowly, looking back and forth with his eyes but not moving his head, it’s evident that he’s on some sort of balcony with a glass case protecting him from the outside world. “The Neon City,” as he’s decided to dub it in his mind. It’s no Tokyo, that’s for sure.

… Though, on second thought, perhaps the glass isn’t protecting him from what’s outside.

Maybe it’s trapping him inside. Inside wherever this is. Some balcony in some city he’s never been in. 

Either way, he’s not in the arcade anymore—

Speaking of which… Wait. If he’s not in the arcade—is this a dream? Is this real? Mika’s not always known for being the brightest one of the bunch, but he’s not  _ stupid. _ He has enough intellect to conclude that something here is not right. Something is very wrong.

Or, well, they  _ were  _ in an arcade. Maybe this is just a really, really,  _ really  _ vivid daydream. It would explain why everything seems to be pink and purple-tinted, why he can see his own eyes reflecting in the glass in front of him, and why cars seem to be traveling at the speed of light through the night sky, like streaks of paint soaring across an artist’s canvas. 

Wait—are those cars  _ flying? _

What on Earth is going on here?! Things like this aren’t possible! He’s not a tech wiz by any means, but… something isn’t right here. Cars don’t do that. 

Yeah, the more he thinks about it, this is definitely a dream. That’s not possible. One of the richest people on the entire planet goes to his school, and he’s never seen of or even heard about him having a flying car. So, yup. This is  _ definitely  _ a dream.

Breathing speeding up as the overwhelming feeling of being completely and utterly lost bears down on him, Mika tightens his hand into a fist.

Or at least, he  _ tries  _ to. 

It’s a little difficult to clench your hand into a fist when you’re holding a loaded gun.

One that  _ isn’t  _ a toy this time.

Well, he thinks at first glance. But he doesn’t pay too much thought to it and whether or not it’s real or fake escapes his mind. There’s a lot to take in right now, and focusing too hard on what’s resting in his hands isn’t something at the top of his priority list.

Still, it’s an interesting object to look at. 

Looking down in response to becoming aware of the cold metal against his fingertips, the reflection of the neon lights onto the black barrel of the handgun in his hands shines into Mika’s eyes. It’s not a large gun by any means. Large enough to fit comfortably in the palm of his hands, as if it was made for him. But still small enough for him to stuff in a jacket pocket if he so desires. It has a neon turquoise strip running down both sides of it, providing an even brighter light to the world around him.

Mika’s not entirely sure  _ why  _ he’s holding it. Maybe he had it in the arcade? It’s unclear—the memories from the arcade are fuzzy. The more he tries to think about them, the less he can remember. All he can see clearly is Shu’s face smiling at him. And the only sound that’s clear in his ears are the sounds of “Kagehira!” coming from Shu’s concerned lips. Anything else is a haze.

_ Hnnnng. Need to stop thinkin’ bout it too much. ‘s gonna give me another headache, _ he thinks to himself. Shaking his head, Mika forgets about the gun in his hand and readjusts his attention away from the past and instead focuses on the present.

Spinning around, Mika turns his back to the city behind him and faces the interior of the building, trying to get a grip of what’s happening to him. Looking around is the inside of what appears to be… a casino? Of sorts. It’s much livelier than the arcade he was once in, that’s for sure. There are some slot machines, a roulette table, and some couches where individuals are playing cards and chatting away. The patronage has individuals around Mika’s age to those that are middle-aged, though the vast majority of people present look like they’re in their thirties or so. Looking closer, Mika notices a mixture of people wearing some strange costumes straight out of a bad ‘80s movie, and others what looks like formal attire, though some of the design choices look questionable. Shu would certainly have a field day tearing apart these patron’s clothing choices.

But… wait. More importantly, where  _ is  _ Shu? He’s not anywhere to be seen, and it’s not like Shu to just leave him behind. In fact, it’s incredibly  _ out  _ of character for him to not be seen with Mika. They’re not  _ together  _ or anything like that (though Mika wouldn’t be… well,  _ opposed  _ to it), but…

Well..

They’re together. Always. Just not  _ together  _ together. Like, in a relationship. Which is why it’s important for Mika to find Shu as soon as possible. Mika doesn’t want to be alone, not anymore than Shu likely doesn’t. He’s probably just as confused as he is right now. And knowing him, he’s probably not handling the situation as well as Mika is right now.

But before Mika can even begin to try and find where Shu’s wandered off to or maybe get some answers about where he is and whatever might have happened to the arcade, someone is calling his name from the side. 

“Mika-kUN!”

That voice is familiar.

Oh god. 

Is he in danger?

Gripping the gun tightly in his hand, Mika turns towards the direction of the voice. He likes to think that he is ready for anything—as ready as he can be considering that he had no idea where he is or how he even got there in the first place.

What he’s not ready for, however, is seeing Natsume’s knowing smirk as he walks up to him, wearing what looks to be some sort of… cosplay outfit? Though considering it’s Natsume he’s looking at, it’s not too far out of a guess for him to be wearing this as part of his usual wardrobe. Sure, it’s definitely a fashion statement but it’s something Mika shrugs off after a couple of seconds of looking up and down his outfit. He’s wearing a black and hot pink coat that’s fastened at the front, which prevents Mika from getting a better view of his shirt and upper thighs. However, it’s clear that his hood is down and that he’s wearing almost skin-tight fingerless gloves, a black choker, and a matching pair of black boots with grey trim that go up to a little bit above the middle of his calf. Typical Natsume. 

Getting closer to Mika, Natsume’s eyes widen upon seeing what’s in Mika’s hands.

“Wh—stop thAT! Put your gun down right nOW. Are you insaNE?” Natsume whispers harshly, glancing around nervously at the people around them. All the other visitors appear absorbed in a gambling game or in conversation with someone else, so it doesn’t seem like they’ve noticed what is  _ apparently  _ inappropriate casino conduct. Quickly closing the distance between them, Natsume places a hand on Mika’s gun and lowers it, using his body to block Mika’s hands from the sight of the rest of the casino. Leaning in near Mika’s ear, Natsume whispers, sending a shiver down Mika’s spine. “Do you  _ want  _ them to know that we’re here?”

Not fully understanding the message but not wanting to upset his friend, Mika weakens his tight hold on the gun and looks down at his waist—conveniently finding a black holster around his waist. That  _ definitely  _ wasn’t there when he left school this afternoon. Shrugging, he doesn’t think too hard about it and slips the gun into the pocket, covering it with the end of his blue blazer. Once it’s out of the way, Mika looks over at Natsume and furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Though Natsume doesn’t pay his body language much attention.

“Also… Mika-kun, seriousLY? I leave you for all of like  _ five  _ minutes and you’ve already gone through an entire wardrobe chaNGE. Why are you dressed like… thAT?” He asks, gesturing vaguely to the Yumenosaki uniform that Mika’s still wearing. 

Nervously laughing to himself, Mika averts his gaze away from Natsume’s amber eyes, which are locked onto his out-of-place form like a target and expectantly awaiting a reply.

“Eheheh, errmmm… Well,” Mika begins, frantically racking his brains for  _ something  _ to explain why he doesn’t look like the rest of the people here at this weird costume party get-together that he’s somehow found himself in the middle of. What kind of explanation  _ would  _ make sense? His heart pounds in his chest, threatening to leap out if he makes one false move. Natsume’s smart, for sure. And Mika’s not a very good liar. He’ll surely be able to tell that Mika’s suffering from what is obviously some case of amnesia. Or, he could  _ still  _ be dreaming. That theory hasn’t been left in the dust quite yet. Looking back up at Natsume, the leather and neon-clad teen’s piercing gaze hasn’t budged an inch.

Well, here goes nothing.

“I, uh, spilled somethin’ on m’ old clothes and it felt sticky an’ gross, so I went to the bathroom t’get changed an’ all, an’ then someone offered me up these clothes t’wear, so… ‘m wearin’ em… now?” He slowly answers, inflecting rising as he ends his explanation, almost as if it’s a question.

“That’s pretty weird, not gonna liE. Who just has an extra pair of clothes that are perfectly in your size to give away to strangers in the bathrOOM? In  _ this  _ econoMY? Jeez. Whatever, thouGH. You’ve got some extra clothes back at the base, nO?” Turning around, Natsume grabs Mika’s wrist and begins to lead him away from the balcony into the casino. “You can just change into your usual outfit whenever we get back thERE. Come on, we’ve got business to take care of toniGHT. Let’s gO.”

Wait—the  _ base? _ Are they… playing a game? Like, pretend? Like, they’re seven years old? 

… It would explain why they’re at a costume party. 

And—business? What? What kind of “business” is there to do at a costume party for teenagers and middle-aged adults? Mingle with people that are old enough to be like a cool uncle? 

No thanks.

Though with the way he’s being dragged, it’s not like he has much of a choice. With Natsume tugging his wrist along like he’s a dog on a leash, Mika is led out from the balcony along the wall of the interior of the casino. Now that he’s inside and doesn’t have much else to do other than look around, he’s finally able to get a good view of where he actually is. The floors are a black square tile with neon lighting running back and forth through the cracks and up along the walls which are somehow even darker than the floor itself. Interspersed along the junction where the wall meets the ceiling are black orbs with a light blue beam of light emitting right from the center. Probably nothing more than some security cameras. It’s a casino, so they’ve probably got lots of money stored here somewhere. Plus, it’s not unlikely that someone’s watching the camera to make sure no one’s cheating at any of the games. Businesses don’t like to lose money. Businesses also don’t like to not have complete control over their patrons. 

Suddenly, he’s being turned around a corner and walking down one of the rows of slot machines, the sound of slots rolling, buttons being pushed almost robotically, and the chinging of success drowning out everything else in the room. Though now that he’s closer to the people sitting slumped in the chairs, an eerie feeling sits in his stomach.

They’re pale. Lifeless, almost. Well, they’re alive. But it looks like they’re just barely hanging on. Not enough in them to  _ really  _ be human, but there’s still enough of  _ something  _ left in them to keep playing the slot machine.

… It’s kind of sad.

But before Mika’s able to spend too long looking at them, Natsume’s wordlessly giving him another sharp tug, this time pulling him around another corner, leaving the nearly-lifeless corpses at the slot machines behind. Now, there’s more couches in view as well as what looks like some kind of bar counter against the wall. Ahead, there’s a dark corridor. It’s too difficult to tell what’s down the hallway from this distance.

“Nnnh, Nacchan. Wait up,” Mika lets escape his lips, tugging back on Natsume’s grip on his wrist and stopping him in his tracks. Looking at Natsume, who’s wearing a scowl as if he’s in a big hurry and Mika is only slowing him down, Mika pleads silently to the best of his ability. Seeing the look in Mika’s eyes, Natsume lets out a quiet sigh. 

“What is iT?” Natsume asks, expression softening as Mika’s expression seems to grow weaker. 

“I… I can’t do this right now. I gotta stop. I gotta go an’ find out where Oshi-san is. I can’t hang out with ya right now,” Mika finally admits. Sheepishly, he bites his lip as he breaks eye contact with Natsume, not wanting to see the stare he knows he’s on the receiving end of. 

“You  _ said  _ you weren’t going to let your little boyfriend get in the wAY,” Natsume snaps, letting go of his hold on Mika’s wrist to push his bangs back in exasperation. “And it’s not ‘hanging oUT.’ Don’t you realiZE? This is some really serious business—I think we’re finally getting cloSE. But,  _ god, _ you two are inseparable—is it too much to ask for you to keep your work life and your personal life separaTE? Besides, I still find it hard to believe that he’s still into you after everything you dID.”

Hold the phone.

**WHAT?**

Boy—what? Nevermind that, what on EARTH did he  **_do_ ** to Shu? Is it something bad to made him hate him? Did he… did he hurt him? He wouldn’t be able to bear it if he had hurt him—accidentally or not.

Well… wait. Shu’s not  _ dead  _ from what Mika’s able to put together so far. Natsume said that Shu’s still…  _ into him, _ if that means what Mika thinks (see:  _ hopes) _ it means. So Shu's alive. Thank god. Maybe Natsume knows where he is and this silly little adventure will all be over and they’ll be able to go home, sew together, have fun— 

No. There’s an immediate problem that needs attention: Mika did  _ something  _ to Shu and he  _ needs  _ to get to the bottom of it. He just knows that he’ll never forgive himself for whatever he did, so, it’s time to rip the bandaid off and face his problems. 

“A-After… what I did?” Mika asks, somewhat hesitating as his heart races and begins to feel like he’s on the verge of nausea. “Was it… bad?”

“Was it bAD?” Natsume mocks, rolling his eyes in exaggeration. “Take a guESS. You stole his caR. Why are you acting like you’re surpriSED? I think his family’s still pretty pissed at yOU. Can you blame thEM? If you stole my car I’d be pissed at you, toO. But I could probably steal it baCK. You’ve known me for forever, after aLL.”

He… Mika… Mika stole a car.

He doesn’t even have a driver’s license, for god’s sake. 

_ How  _ the hell did he steal a car?

_ Why  _ did he steal Shu’s car?

Wait, why does Shu even  _ have  _ a car?

He shouldn’t be anywhere near the road. 

Asking questions doesn’t seem to be producing any answers, just more questions. All of this is too confusing—he doesn’t know where he is, he doesn’t know where Shu is, Natsume is probably playing some mean prank on him where he’s pretending Shu’s his boyfriend, and Natsume—being Natsume—is probably playing an even meaner prank on him by insinuating that Mika’s harmed Shu’s… family’s… property assets? Shaking his head, it’s too much. Everything about this situation is too much, and the bright lights and loud chinging of slot machines in the background aren’t helping.

Quickly inhaling and exhaling Mika fidgets with the ends of his sleeves in an attempt to distract himself from the overpouring of thoughts that are flooding his mind. Really, really.  _ Really, there’s nothing to worry about, _ Mika reassures himself. Natsume’s just playing a silly joke. Taking it too far, too. 

Well, Natsume’s a good actor. Mika will give him credit for that, at the very least. 

“I… I wouldn’t do that!”

Natsume’s brows furrow in confusion. “But you dID?”

“I—” 

“Dude, you need to chill oUT. You don’t need to play mind games on yourself to make yourself feel less guilTY. You already did iT. Plus, he’s still obsessed with you or whatever so you probably don’t have anything to worry abOUT. I’m just giving you my opiniON. And maybe a word of advice: steal from people who matTER. Not your boyfriEND,” Natsume urges, not picking up on the emotional turmoil Mika’s currently experiencing. Tapping his chin, he looks up towards the neon lights on the ceiling. “But… on second thought, he can be useFUL. Maybe you  _ should  _ keep him around for a little while longER.”

Humming to himself, Natsume turns back around, not having any more interest in talking about Mika’s “boyfriend.” Grabbing Mika’s wrist again, he gets ready to take another step forward. “We’ve got things to dO.” 

“Wait, Nacchan. Whaddya mean, he can be ‘useful’?” Mika inquires, tilting his head to the side. If he were to guess… well, he can’t make a  _ very good  _ guess even if he  _ does  _ rack his brains. There isn’t enough information yet. Moreover, he still doesn’t know what kind of weird roleplaying game they’re playing. There could be any number of reasons why Shu might be “useful.” Maybe they’re on a scavenger hunt and Shu knows a clue about one of the items on their list?

… No, probably not.

But, on second thought… a scavenger hunt isn’t too far fetched, considering the way Natsume’s leading him through this casino. Maybe they’re looking for some sort of long lost treasure.

… While dressed in weird costumes and in a place Mika’s sure he’s never been to in his entire life. Plus, there were flying cars outside. He saw them. With his gold and cyan eyes. 

If this was a treasure hunt, the person in charge of the scene production is doing an excellent job. It’s so realistic. An excellent job of being convincing.

Too bad it’s all just a dream.

“Mika-kun, what is with you and all the questions todAY? You’re acting weirder than usual, which is a lot coming from ME,” Natsume scoffs, sending a puff of air out in front of him, making his bangs flip up with the wind. “You knOW. He’s got thiNGS. We don’T.

Quieter, this time, Natsume continues on. “It’s nice that you have someone like that, reaLLY. I know I give you a lot of shit for it, bUT… this world wasn’t made for people like uS. You now have someone that can take you out of it, even for good if you’re luCKY. So, it’s something for you to take advantaGE of.”

“But I wouldn’t—”

Cutting him off, Natsume interjects. “Don’t forget about how much the organization could benefit from him, tOO.”

Speechless. Mika’s speechless. 

Now there’s an “organization”?

This roleplaying game has too many layers. Keeping up with it is too difficult. 

Mika just wants to go home. 

But, he can’t go home without Shu. They’re together. Or at least, supposed to be. He’s missing right now, but Mika’s going to find him. 

… Is what he tells himself to stay positive.

But really, finding Shu can’t be  _ too  _ difficult. He’s probably wearing the same school uniform, which means that he’ll be easy to spot among the crowd.

“... Nnnh, Nacchan. I don’t care ‘bout that right now. Where is he?” Mika asks with urgency. There is a lot that he doesn’t fully understand right now. But, he rationalizes, it’s best to tackle one problem at a time. Once he finds Shu, then he’ll surely be able to just go straight home with him. 

“I don’t knOW,” Natsume spits out, apparently not perceiving how much finding Shu matters to Mika right now. Or how much that  _ not  _ having Shu with him is causing him anxiety and stress. “I don’t keep tabs on your boyfrIEND. I don’t know what people like him do in their free tiME.” 

Again, Natsume’s calling Shu Mika’s boyfriend. Mika’s cheeks become tinted with a light shade of red at the reminder. Saying that Shu’s his boyfriend is just one way Natsume’s teasing him, right? Do they… do they really act like that much of a couple?

Bringing his hand up to feel his cheeks, the cold skin of him palms meshing with the heat from his face, Mika closes his eyes and shakes his head. There’s no way they act like that. That’s too embarrassing. Other people noticing Mika’s feelings for Shu, that’s… it’s too much. The last thing Mika wants is everyone at Yumenosaki to know about his  _ crush  _ on his unit mate. Natsume’s probably just being an asshole.

“Come on, Mika-kuN. We’ve wasted enough time talking about your problems and issUES,” Natsume scolds, rolling his eyes. With his grip still on Mika’s wrist, he begins to pull him forward with Mika obliging. It’s not like he has much of a choice—Natsume’s persistent on doing… whatever it is he’s trying to do. Seems like they’re looking for something. “Let’s gO. We’re almost theRE.”

Fine. Now all that’s left it to let Natsume take him through this silly little building so they complete their silly little tasks. Then maybe he’ll be able to break away from him and go and find Shu.

Except the flashing red lights all around them don’t seem to support this plan. Blaring over the intercom is an unwelcome message coming from a voice that doesn’t sound fully human. But it’s close enough where if Mika wasn’t listening as carefully as he is, he might have missed it.

“Intruder detected. Security notified.” 

“ShiT. RuN.”

Without hesitation, Mika bolts after Natsume. Though Natsume isn’t holding him anymore, it’s not too difficult to keep up with him. Both of them are fast on their feet and smaller compared to the rest of the people around them. The strobing red lights do not do much for his visibility, though, but the neon pink strips of Natsume’s jacket stand out even against the hard red light. 

Plus, the rest of the people at the casino seem to pay no mind to the chase that’s unfolding before their eyes. Well,  _ technically speaking, _ it’s not unfolding before their eyes. Most of their eyes are glued to the screens of the games in front of them. Even the ones that are chatting away amongst each other on the sidelines of the casino seem eerily fixated on the huge television screens across from the couches on the wall. 

Taking a sharp turn and entering through a pair of metallic sliding doors that open right before they slam into the face of it, Mika follows Natsume through what appears to be some sort of dining room. But he doesn’t have time to get a good look at what’s happening because even though the door swishes shut behind them, it’s quick to open again. The sound of multiple heavy footsteps can be heard chasing after them. Whatever’s chasing them is big, and there’s a lot of them. There’s also the flap of what Mika assumes is some sort of backpack or something as the things behind them chase them, some type of fabric or gear making contact with the surface of those  _ things  _ with every step.

“HurRY!” Natsume calls out, not looking behind him to get a look at whatever is encroaching upon them. Something tells Mika that this isn’t the first time Natsume’s run from whatever these things are. 

“Commencing lockdown sequence.”

Once again, the voice blaring through the intercom system is cryptic as ever. Not quite human, but stating commands as if it were natural. 

“ShiT! We’re gonna be in big trouble if we don’t make it out of this oNE—we gotta gO!”

The voice is ominous, but Natsume’s right. 

Whatever’s behind them, there’s a lot of them and only two of Natsume and Mika combined. There’s no time to waste—if they hesitate for only a second they’ll surely be ripped to shreds or have 

Adrenaline propelling him forward, Mika dashes closer behind Natsume with everything he’s got, the gap between them becoming nearly nonexistent. Soon, they’ve almost crossed the entirety of the dining area. Another set of metallic doors are less than twenty feet in front of them. Which is perfectly fine and dandy except for the fact that a very thick metal sheet is currently rolling down from the ceiling over the door. In what Mika guesses to be less than thirty seconds, they’ll have no way out.

How much he wants to panic, to be anywhere but running for his life, to be back on stage performing with Shu, to be on the receiving end of maintenance, to be…

With Shu.

Being with Shu is safe, warm. Predictable. Comforting. This situation right now is like the polar opposite of what being with Shu is like.

And Mika wishes for it to hurry up and finish. 

Running forward is the only way to get closer to Shu, though. He hopes. There’s a chance that Shu might have also been in the casino Mika came to his senses in. Maybe Shu was just in the bathroom or something, and Mika ran off to go play with Natsume. 

Leaving him behind. 

God, maybe Natusme  _ was  _ right. Maybe the way he’s been acting isn’t something Shu can forgive. Sure, the whole thing about “stealing his car” or whatever might have just been some silly jest, but what if Mika really  _ did  _ do something to make Shu hate him? What if this—the way he’s running away from what he doesn’t know—isn’t any better? It’s too much. There are so many choices, and all of them seem to have their merits but the more Mika reflects on what’s led him to where he is right now, running for his _ life, _ maybe he’s just been making one bad choice after the other.

But, still. The predicament he’s in now is definitely not one of the best times to have a self-reflection session. He’s being chased, and he might not make it out of this. 

“The door’s closin’!” He shouts at Natsume, sweat dripping down the side of his head as he continues running with everything he’s got. 

“We’re gonna make it in tiME!” 

And without further ado, as they’re closing in on the door, Natsume speeds up and slides under the closing metal door like a professional. This isn’t his first rodeo it seems. 

In the split second of watching Natsume’s skillful slide, Mika feels a sense of dread overwhelming him. He’s a klutz. It’s like his middle name. It’s part of his identity, really. If he tries, he’s probably going to do something stupid on accident like trip over his shoelaces or get his blazer snagged in the door. 

But there isn’t another choice. 

He has to do it. 

With a sharp inhale, Mika mimics Natsume’s motions. Angling his body down and sliding fast. The cold metal of the tile helps slide him along and before he knows it, he’s underneath the door and the metal hits the ground with a heavy pound. It’s like it’s soundproof, too. The thundering footsteps can’t be heard anymore, though the red lights are still flashing wildly. Standing up, Mika notices that he’s in a dark hallway with no way forward except to his left and right.

Mika doesn’t have any time to catch his breath before Natsume’s taking a hard left and running down the hallway with everything he has. 

Scrambling up from his position on the floor, Mika’s up and running after Natsume in an instant, the click of their boots against the metal below creating an interesting sound when mixed with the siren that’s begun blaring. 

Yup, that  _ definitely  _ doesn’t sound good. 

Running down the hallway, Mika follows Natsume for what feels like at least a quarter of a mile, twisting and turning along with the natural curve of the corridor. It’s bland—there aren’t any decorations hanging on the walls. Just the cool metal enveloping them from all sides, offering no relief. There aren’t even any windows, so Mika’s not even sure which direction he’s heading. Though he’s glad that he’s decided to stick by Natsume’s side through all of this. The inner workings of the casino have proven themselves to be quite the maze; there’s no way he’d escape from this place on his own. And with those  _ things  _ chasing him, things that probably have a better lay of the land, he’d be toast in an instant. 

Wordlessly, Mika continues to dash after Natsume, his legs trying to take him as far away from the imminent danger as they can. And after what feels like a millennium of running through the corridor, there’s a light ahead. Getting closer, it looks like there’s a set of glass double doors that are just begging for someone to use them. Good thing Natsume and Mika are closing in on it.

“Almost… theRE,” Natsume huffs out, also clearly out of breath. But the adrenaline is also fueling him and propelling him forward, giving him the burst of energy he needs right now. 

Mika doesn’t have the energy to reply verbally. Instead, he nods to himself though Natsume isn’t able to see it from his place in front of Mika. 

Soon enough, the duo is met with the glass door. From inside the corridors of the casino, the purple glow of a bustling city illuminates the interior of the corridor closest to the door. It’s beautiful, really. Mika would love to get a good look at it and stare at the pink, purple, and blue neon lights dancing overhead for ages. But not right now, of course. Maybe when he finally figures out where Shu went, they’ll get to experience this place together and sightsee a little bit before heading home. 

Though, there is one problem with this door. Unlike the doors leading in and out of the dining area, this one doesn’t open automatically. 

Doesn’t matter, though. In an instant Natsume’s undoing the zipper on his jacket, exposing a handgun strapped to his thigh that Mika didn’t notice before. 

Oh, Natsume’s got a gun, too.

Cool.

Wait.

Not cool.

Realization dawns on Mika. He’s alone with Natsume. In some hallway he’s unfamiliar with. Natsume’s got a gun. Natsume  _ probably  _ knows how to use it. Mika has one too, but it’s just a toy or something. The way Natsume’s gun clicks to life as soon as it’s out of the holster, the pink neon stripes animated against the jet black barrel makes it look incredibly realistic. His  _ definitely  _ isn’t a toy.

Putting two and two together, Mika begins to fear for his life. The pounding in his chest is unreal. 

Oh god.

Oh  _ god. _

This is how Mika’s going to die, isn’t it?

Preparing for the worst—having to defend himself against Natsume’s unanticipated potential surprise attack—Mika reaches a shaky hand down to his waist and slips out his gun from its secured location in his holster. Suddenly, his gun comes whirring to life much like Natsume’s except his gun has neon turquoise strips running along the barrel instead of pink. 

It doesn’t look like a toy. 

Hands shaking, Mika tries to get a good grip on it although his fingers do not seem to be in the mood to cooperate. He doesn’t lift it up at Natsume though, since everything is beginning to feel way too  _ real. _ It’s a different feeling from how Mika’s felt before in this strange place. It doesn’t feel like a dream anymore, with the cold metal of the gun in his hands feeling almost  _ alive. _

Natsume doesn’t even look back as Mika fumbles with the gun in his hands. As soon as his gun is secure in his grip, he’s bracing his body and using the gun to smash the glass in front of him. Using enough force, the glass door falls to pieces, tiny translucent crystals raining down onto the floor. After quickly glancing back at Mika, Natsume hops through the open space he’s created by breaking the glass and is into the street. Looking quickly to both sides, it looks like the coast is clear of any immediate danger, or else he would be taking off in an instant. They’ve got a little bit of a headstart since whatever was chasing them seems to be stalled back in the dining area of the casino.

Well.

Looks like Natsume  _ wasn’t  _ trying to kill him. Wanting to slap the palm of his hand against his forehead, Mika instead shuts his eyes tight and grimaces to himself. Why did he jump to that conclusion? Natsume… Natsume is his friend. Natsume wouldn’t hurt him. So far, Natsume is the only person he has in this strange place. Even if he wants nothing more than to go and find Shu, he’s got to rely on Natsume to help him figure out where he is. The original plan was to pretend like he knows what’s going on but it feels like every five minutes there’s a new discovery to be made, narrowing his will to continue pretending with each passing second. 

Without further thought, Mika hops through the broken glass just like Natsume, being careful not to touch any of the sharp shards that are still attached to the metal door frame. 

Once he’s finally crossed the threshold into the outside world, Mika's in awe at what’s around him. Cars flying overhead, bright pink, purple, and blue lights flashing on and off, the bustle of pedestrians walking up and down the sidewalk—it’s beautiful, it’s a lot, it’s overwhelming. It’s different, certainly. It’s also a little scary; never in his life has Mika felt so  _ small _ compared to the world around him.

Looking over at Natsume, Mika can’t help but give a dumbfounded stare as he’s practically glued to the sidewalk beneath him. 

“God, you’re not being helpful todAY. We’re partners, so why am I doing all the work around here right nOW? You gotta pick up the paCE,” Natsume lets out, though there isn’t too much of a sting coming from his words. He just sounds frustrated and exhausted—whatever “business” they had to take care of here has gotten sidetracked in a weird and unexpected way, and now they’re culprits of property damage. Fantastic, just another thing Mika’s always wanted to do getting crossed off of his bucket list.

Not really. 

“S-sorry,” Mika mutters, not really understanding what Natsume’s expecting of him. 

“WhateVER. You’ll have plenty of time to explain why you’re so scatterbrained today when we get back to the bASE. Now, hurry uP. They’re probably running down that corridor right after us as we speAK. We gotta get to our rides, nOW.”

Their… rides?

And once again, as if expecting Mika to follow right behind him, Natsume is bolting down the sidewalk away from what’s apparently the side entrance to the casino.

With a huff, Mika bolts after Natsume, heading down the city street to god knows where. And not a second too soon, too. With a bang, the remains of the glass door they just crossed through become crumpled chunks of metal as  _ something  _ comes barreling outside of the building into the streets. 

Sneaking a quick glance behind him, a mob of heavily armored people in black military gear run after the duo. Over their heats are what look like motorcycle helmets, tinted so dark Mika can’t see anything underneath the lens. 

“Eeeeek!” He squeaks out, turning his head away from the creepy soldier-like things pursuing them and focusing on the flutter of Natsume’s jacket trailing behind him. Natsume rolls his eyes at hearing Mika’s reaction.

“You never chaNGE. C’mon, we’re almost thERE.”

Fine by Mika—anything to get away from these freaks is fine and dandy by him. 

Zig-zagging between pedestrians, Natsume and Mika make their way through the crowd and take another sharp left down a dark alley. It’s gross, smells like rotting garbage, and Mika’s pretty sure he stepped in a pile of sewage. Yuck. There aren’t many neon lights directly overhead to guide their path, but the glow from the rest of the city is so strong they don’t need a whole lot of additional light to see where they’re going. Quickly following after Natsume, they take a quick turn to the right down an even tighter alley before they’re back on some sort of main street. 

They continue down the main path, bright lights giving Mika’s eyes a temporary shock after coming from an ostensibly darker area. 

A pair of motorcycles, leaving a streak of red, blue, and yellow in their wake, hurl down the street, narrowly weaving through the mess of traffic on the ground. 

“Looks like they’ve already gotten out—we better catch up to the theEM.”

Others? Who else was supposed to be with them? There were so many other people in the casino, but Mika can’t recall seeing anyone he recognized. Other than Natsume, of course. 

Mika doesn’t need to think about it too hard, though. After a moment of trying to put together the puzzle pieces of the scraps he’s been able to gather from Natsume—a moment where he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings at all—they’re taking one more turn to the left until they’re faced with two parked motorcycles. They’re both as black as can be, but one has neon pink lights racing across the body while the other one has neon turquoise lights following across, following the same exact pattern. 

Without hesitation, Natsume hops onto the pink one and revs up the engine, giving the controls on the handle bars a good roll. 

Mika can’t do anything but look at Natsume, utterly dumbfounded. 

But the ever-encroaching pounding of footsteps behind him shakes him out of that trance. Letting instincts take over, Mika scampers over to the bike and climbs over the seat. Sitting down, the bike’s the perfect size for his small frame—his feet can reach the ground if he lowers them down from the rest they’re currently on. 

Looking down, the miniature dashboard in front of him suddenly comes to life. Almost like a projection, all sorts of guages, controls, charts, lines, and graphs come to life in a neon hue. Looking over at Natsume, he can’t see the same screen appearing in front of him. Perhaps this is something only he can see? It’s unclear. 

“Nnnah, nah, ahh…” Mika lets slip out, confusion spreading across his face. There aren’t any words that say what most of these symbols mean, and they’re not incredibly intuitive for someone who’s never ridden anything more complex than an ordinary bicycle. “Haaah—?” 

“Did you forget how to ride your biKE? This is no time for games, Mika-kUN! We need to go, nOW!” Natsume calls over to Mika, the sense of dire urgency clear in his tone. And it’s only exacerbated by the heavy approach of footsteps. Soon, the creatures that were chasing them out of the casino are less than fifty feet away. 

Panicking, Mika randomly taps some buttons on the screen that appeared before his eyes until the menu minimizes and is out of his sight for now. Hunching over the handlebars, Mika feels the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he heaves heavily. Natsume’s revving up his engine, ready to take off at any moment. 

And right when Mika’s about to say screw it and drive off even though he has no idea what he’s doing, something catches his attention.

Rather,  _ someone. _

“Kagehira!” 

Immediately swiveling his head to the direction of the voice, Mika’s met with a mop of pink hair.

It’s no one other than Shu, of course.

Shu, who’s been missing for the better part of the last half hour, leaving Mika alone with Natsume on the wildest ride he’s had in his entire seventeen years of life. Shu, who’s also wearing some sort of futuristic outfit. Definitely out of character for him—Shu would  _ never  _ be caught dead wearing something as bright, flashy, and simply  _ gaudy  _ as that. 

But Mika doesn’t have time to scrutinize the intricacies of Shu’s choice of outerwear. 

“Kagehira! What are you—” Shu tries to call out one more time, before the mob of what seem to be soldiers or very,  _ very  _ enraged security guards push Shu out of the way as they barrel their way towards where Natsume and Mika are parked. 

“Mika-kun, we need to go NOW or we’re not gonna be alive for the next missION! GO!” Natsume shouts, looking back at Mika one last time before facing the street in front of him. 

With his hand tight on the motorcycle’s throttle but not yet pushing it forward, Mika sits on his bike, the low hum of the machine contrasting with the chaos that’s on the verge of unfolding. 

Shit.

Mika, he… 

He can’t.

Not now.

Not when he and Natsume’s lives are apparently on the line.

There’s too much going on. 

He’ll have to leave Shu behind for now.

“Oshi-san…” he whispers, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t want to leave Shu, now that he’s  _ finally  _ found him, but… there isn’t another option. 

The sound of Natsume’s bike sputtering into the street ahead alerts Mika to what he needs to do at this very moment.

Taking a deep breath, he rolls the throttle on the handlebar forward with everything he’s got.

He just hopes he won’t regret this decision. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOOOOO BOY YOU CAN THANK THE DISCORD PARTICIPANTS FOR GETTING UP THIS FAR! their choices have definitely made this story becoming quite interesting... stay tuned for chapter 3!
> 
> anyways this fic is SO FUN to write i've literally never felt like i've had so many ideas for a story before so I'm gonna ride this train as long as my brain lets me LOL see you guys soon!
> 
> if you like my content please consider supporting me!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sakradevi) | [my other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/works) | [valkyrieP discord server](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) ☆彡


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mika escapes the danger, meets some more people in this range world, discovers pieces of information, and realizes that he's not from this world. oh, and shu want something with him.

“Nnnah, Nacchan!” Calling out to Natsume in a panic, Mika’s hands are shaky and sweaty against the textured carbon fiber of the bike’s handlebars. Not knowing anything about how to balance or how to steer or even what the controls are, the main street they’re riding down becomes far more dangerous with the way Mika’s wobbling all over the lane. With the way he’s barely managing not to crash his bike into one of the other cars on the street, Mika’s control over his life is slowly slipping from his grasp. In more ways than one. 

Leaving Shu behind isn’t something that Mika  _ wanted  _ to do, but it’s what he had to do at the moment. A twinge of guilt pulls at his heart as the motorcycle zooms forward almost instantaneously and Shu’s left behind, standing alone on the street corner. And now, although they don’t seem to be in any immediate danger since they’ve escaped their pursuers by just a hair, the gap between Shu and Mika is only widening as he’s racing down the street of some unknown city in an unknown direction to an unknown destination.

Going home really does seem to be like asking for too much at this point. 

“WhaT?” Natsume asks back. Except his voice isn’t muffled by the loud sound of their bikes beneath them or the high-speed winds that they’re feeling by going so fast. Mika’s pretty sure they’re breaking some more laws with how fast they’re going—none of the other cars around them are even close to being as fast as they are right now. 

No, Natsume’s voice is as clear as can be. Almost as if he’s speaking directly to his face. Almost like they’re connected through some sort of headset or speaker system. 

“How do ya cont—aaahHHHHH!” 

Swerving, Mika barely avoids crashing his bike into a streetlamp. It’s a miracle he hasn’t hit anything yet, but with the way he’s barely hanging on now, who knows how much longer his luck will hold out for? 

“JeeZ. Someone’s suffering from long-term memory loSS. How the  _ hell  _ do you forget how to ride a biKE?”

_ I haven’t forgotten—I just never learned how! _

… is what Mika wants to say, but he bites his tongue for the time being. After all, he decided earlier to play along. Can’t break the act  _ too much. _ Not yet, at least. Biting his lip, Mika feels trapped, somehow. He doesn’t like to lie, and right now pretending to go along with whatever craziness he’s somehow gotten involved in this either very realistic dream or weird reality he’s been planted in. But with how real everything feels around him, from the way his gun hummed to life, to being chased through a casino, to gripping the handlebars of some high-tech bike below him, the latter option seems more feasible. 

This really isn’t a dream… isn’t it?

Continuing down the street, Mika’s able to steady his bike out, finally figuring out what angle is best for him to position his body so that he has  _ some  _ form of control over this machine. Helplessly, he follows after Natsume, a streak of bright turquoise following after pink. 

And while Mika’s at it, he  _ does  _ get to go through the city he’s found himself in. But with how fast they’re going and his need to put all of his focus on the road in front of him, there isn’t much information he can glean about his whereabouts. After all, there isn’t much to extract from blurs of purple, pink, and blue. If he wants more concrete information, he’ll have to slow down to get a better look at the city. 

“Looks like we’ve almost caught up to thEM. If we keep this up we’ll be back to the base in no tiME.” 

Natsume’s words, still clear as can be, break Mika out of his thoughts. Looking forward is the faint glow of red, blue, and yellow not too far ahead. 

Yeah, it’s best to keep following after Natsume. He seems to have an idea of what’s going on and some knowledge about where they are, so sticking with him seems like the safest option. Plus, Mika will probably have to go through the city again to get home so there will be plenty of time to get a closer look at it.

Rolling the throttle and revving up the bike, Natsume takes off towards the three other bikers ahead of them. Following his lead, Mika tentatively gives the throttle another roll, feeling the bike jerk forward. “Ah!” 

It’s shocking, really. How just a little movement on the handlebar is able to send him flying across the street faster and faster. But not wanting to get too far behind—god only knows he’ll manage to get lost if he’s left alone—Mika gently rolls the throttle forward again. Little by little, until he gets accustomed to the speed and he’s accelerating down the highway, passing by car after car. And not hitting anything since he’s finally gotten the hang of how to steer this thing. Practice makes perfect.

… Or maybe driving this is just like second nature to him. Like he’s always had it inside of him to do it. He just needed to  _ try. _

Once he and Natsume are close to the other riders, Natsume’s voice comes out clearly in Mika’s ears. 

“Looks like you guys made it out alriGHT.”

“Yeah! Having to leave in such a hurry was unexpected but it’s nothing we can’t handle!”

… Chiaki?

“That’s right~ Chiaki’s a good leader so we didn’t have any difficulty getting out. But the chief is probably going to be upset to see that we failed.”

… Kanata?

“We’re the fastest, too, so it makes sense for us to have gotten out so quickly. Good to see that you and Kagehira-dono made it out okay, too. All of us were worried you guys might be in trouble with how long it was taking you guys to catch up.” 

… Shinobu?

What’s half of Ryuseitai doing here?  _ On bikes? _ There are so many questions running through Mika’s head right now, but most importantly… 

He needs to figure out where he’s headed. Everything else can be figured out later. If he can get a single grip on his situation right now, get just one thing under control, it will have to be their destination.

“Errrr, guys? Sorry t’interrupt but.. uhhh, where exactly are we headed t’ right now?”

A brief silence followed by Natsume’s unamused face appearing on some sort of holographic screen in front of Mika’s eyes. The hologram dashboard that appeared when Mika sat on the bike for the first time is now making a come back. Except for this time, it’s obscuring his view of the road and he can’t let go of the handlebars to push random buttons to minimize it. 

“Uwaaah—!” In a panic, Mika swerves the bike around the lane, nearly hitting one car and getting a blaring honk right in his ears from another. Once he’s able to adjust his vision to the holographic screen in front of him, the road becomes more visible as he’s able to multitask between the two. Plus, Natsume’s face is off to his left so it’s not like his vision is completely obscured. Besides, most of the menu items are translucent and it’s dark out so it’s not too hard to see the contrast between the two. 

Rolling his eyes, Natsume sticks out his tongue. “Guys, just ignore hIM. I lost sight of him for less than five minutes and suddenly he’s brain-damagED.” 

“Wh—’m not brain-damaged! Yer bein’ really harsh, Nacchan!” 

“I’m noT. You’re just overly sensitive as alwaYS. Grow a thicker skIN.” 

“Kagehira-dono,” Shinobu begins, his face appearing right next to Natsume’s. “Maybe you should get some rest when we get back to the base. You look kind of pale…” 

Did he? It’s been a while since he’s been able to look into a mirror—he’s probably disheveled beyond belief. Can’t wait for Shu to give him some maintenance and tidy him— 

Wait. He left Shu behind. He  _ ran away _ from him. There’s probably no way he wants to talk to him right now…

Right now, Mika’s on his own. 

Well, he  _ does  _ have Natsume, Chiaki, Kanata, and Shinobu with him now. But none of them can replace Shu. Being with his friends is fine, but being with Shu makes him feel safe like no other.

“Kagehira! Brain-damaged or not, we’re heading to the base! LUNAR, here we come!” Following suit after Natsume and Shinobu, Chiaki’s face appears next to theirs on Mika’s screen. But with three of them, all of their faces have become somewhat smaller to fit in the space. “Everyone, get ready!”

“Mhm~ Let’s go home now,” Kanata sings out quietly, also joining their “video chat.” Even though they’re all in the same vicinity. 

“Ge—get ready—?”

But before Mika receives an answer, Chiaki, then Kanata, then Shinobu, and finally Natsume are leaning down to the right on their bikes, making an incredibly sharp turn around the upcoming curve in the highway. And not only does it curve, but it’s also downhill, too. As if they’re exiting the highway for the regular streets now. 

Gulping, Mika squeezes the handlebars tight. “... ‘ere goes nothin’.”

Following suit and mimicking those in front of him to the best of his ability, Mika leans to the right. And not just a moment too soon; if he didn’t turn right when he did he’d probably crash straight into the railing. Leaning over was just the boost his bike needed to make the turn. 

Once he’s around the curve and down on a city street, Mika loosens his tight grip on the handlebars. A bead of sweat slides down his neck at how  _ scary  _ he realizes that is. But also confidence swells in his chest knowing that he was able to actually do that. Really, he’s proving to himself that there’s so much that he’s capable of… he’s not weak or anything, even if he is still  _ incredibly  _ confused about what he’s doing here. 

Still, all of his confusion aside, the rest of the group has already assured him that they’re close to wherever their destination is. Perhaps the best option is just to follow along. More questions will probably just result in Natsume snapping at him again. He already seems pretty annoyed, so there’s no need to fan that flame any further. With the conversation seeming to come to an end, everyone else’s face disappears from Mika’s electronic dashboard. Soon after, the menu itself blinks and closes, leaving Mika with nothing but the view of the road in front of him. 

Fortunately, it really does seem like he doesn’t need to ride the bike for much longer. After getting off that curvy ramp onto the street, the group slows down considerably. Mika finally has the chance to get a closer look at his surroundings. Though his eyes don’t leave the road for too long—he’s still paranoid about getting too distracted on accident and ramming his bike into Natsume’s or something.

Around him is the same glow of pink, purple, and light blue neon hues. Upon closer inspection, they’re not just bright neon lights. The vast majority of the signage are advertisements for massive corporations, brands, chains, and franchises Mika’s all heard of before. It’s unsettling—there’s not a single brand name that he  _ doesn’t  _ recognize. Well, at least one thing in this place seems to be familiar even if it is capitalism. Looking beyond the blaring neon lights, Mika takes note of the rest of his surroundings. This corner of the city is emptier, but also more run down. Some signs are nearly falling off, and there are pieces of litter dispersed throughout the road and on the sidewalk. Yuck. Kind of gross. 

Slowing down even more after following the lead of the riders in front of him, Mika releases his push on the throttle until his bike is at a complete stop. The group has pulled into a parking lot near an uninviting, yet luminescent, alleyway. They’re not the only bikes there, though. There are around fifteen to twenty more bikes, all the same model but with different lights running across the body of the machines. With the bike parked, Mika releases his grip on the handlebars and looks over at the rest of the group. Everyone is in a hurry to get off of their bikes, and Chiaki and Kanata are already heading off to a dark building. It’s about three stories tall, the higher levels having their lights completely off. The only source of light coming from the building is a single logo that Mika’s never seen in his life. 

LUNAR. 

Weird. Mika shrugs, guessing that they probably sell space or moon-related knick-knacks. Mika’s not carrying any money on him, though, so he won’t be making any purchase.

“Are you just going to stand there all niGHT? Close your mouth, you’ll catch a bUG,” Natsume teases, though his tone is more irritated than playful. Glancing over at Shinobu, who’s trailing into this mysterious building right after Chiaki and Kanata, Natsume hops off his bike and makes his way over to Mika. Mika cringes at seeing Natsume’s sour expression from where he’s standing next to his bike. Yup, he’s definitely not amused.

“You need to start explaining what’s up with you right nOW. Everything about you is off, from the way you disappeared back at the casino, to your weird outfit to pulling out your gun in front of everyone, to you not knowing how to how to ride your damn biKE,” Natsume interrogates, dusting off his pants as he begins to close the distance between them. Getting closer, Natsume’s scowl is so sharp it nearly cuts the air between them. He lets out a huff as soon as he’s right in front of Mika, staring down his face and waiting for an answer. However, his expression turns from frustration to confusion upon making direct eye contact. “Your eyES.”

“Ehh—huuh?” Mika yaps, bringing up a hand to cover his blue eye in his suddenly self-conscious state. Every time he feels like he’s not insecure about them anymore, someone always has to go and ruin it. “Whaddya mean? What’s wrong with m’ eyes?” 

“Well, when we left for the casino earlier I noticed that you didn’t have your eyepatch oN. So I thought that you were wearing your contacts—no, I could’ve sworn you had them before we left the baSE,” Natsume explains, though Mika’s not entirely sure what Natsume’s trying to convey. Eyepatch? Since when did he even own one? Was it some part of a costume he was supposed to wear? Surely, Shu wouldn’t make him wear an eyepatch. He’s always telling Mika how beautiful they are, so it doesn’t really make sense for him to have to wear one… 

Tapping his chin, Natsume looks away from Mika to focus on some point up in the distance. “... But everything makes sense nOW. Why we were found oUT. Why we had to leave so fasT.” 

“Huh? Nacchan, what’re ya talkin’ ‘bout?” 

Turning back at Mika, Natsume rolls his eyes again. “There’s not really anything in that head of yours, is theRE?”

“Ahh… ‘m sorry?”

“FinE. I guess it has been a while since you’re usually pretty carefUL. I couldn’t really tell in the casino, since I’ve got better things to do with my time than stare into your eyES. Plus, we had the mission and I—wrongfully, apparently—was focused on that more than I was focused on yOU,” Natsume explains, shrugging. “I guess one of the bots or the cameras or something noticed your eyes and it automatically alerted the systEM. Be more careful next time so you don’t put the rest of the team in danGER.”

Ah… so…

That explanation didn’t really make any sense, but, okay. 

So… Does Mika need to cover one of his eyes with an eyepatch? Or wear contacts? He’s not allowed outside without at least one of those items if he’s understanding what Natsume’s saying correctly. Which is strange— 

Geez—this is some weird place. Though, still. With the way Natsume’s talking about missions and “the team” it sounds like some sort of elaborate game. Like a LARP, perhaps.

Or maybe it’s not really anything at all.

Scratch that, it’s definitely  _ something. _ Mika will just have to keep digging to figure out what  _ exactly  _ is going on. 

“Ahh… yeah. My… bad?” Mika finally answers though it sounds more like a question than an apology. “I’ll… remember t’wear ‘em next time…!”

“You bettER. Chief’s gonna get pissed at you once he figures out why we failED.”

“Nnnh… yeah… ‘m worried ‘bout that,” Mika lets out nervously. Being punished isn’t anywhere near the top of his list of favorite activities. He’d like to avoid it if possible. Maybe he’ll get a chance to escape and hide from whoever this “chief” is. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Mika crosses his arms and runs them up and down his sides in anticipation. Right now, being alone with Natsume in the parking lot of some weird looking building in the middle of some city he’s never been to is keeping him on edge. “Nacchan, maybe we should go in with the others.”

“Ahh, hmm—yeaH. We’ve been out here for quite a whiLE.” Turning on his heels, the tail end of his jacket fluttering behind him like a cape, Natsume begins to walk toward the front door of what Mika deduces to be LUNAR. “Let’s head insiDE. Hope you’re reaDY.”

Well, he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. Still hugging his form as a sort of comforting measure, Mika trails after Natsume, neck craning up to look at the building before him. Really, the outside of the building doesn’t tell him much other than it looks like it could be abandoned. But… the bright light of the sign above tells a different story.

He’ll just have to find out on— 

“Oof!”

Though it’s typical of Mika to not be paying attention to where he’s going, he lets out a surprised grunt as he collides with a body. One that’s standing proudly before him, posture impeccable. Magenta hair hanging over his shoulders like no other.

“Fufu! Looks like you two have made it back in one piece. Though you’re late—there’s no time for fooling around here. We’ve got business to take care of, and we can’t do that if you two are meandering about in the parking lot like a pair of fools. Come now!” 

Looking up, Mika’s eyes widen as he’s met with the  _ last  _ person he expected to be here. Glasses shining with the reflection of the sign, a smirk takes place on his face as the man before he uses his right hand to push the brim of his frames further up the bridge of his nose. 

“Sorry about that, chief. We’ll try to be better about it next time,” Natsume answers, turning towards Mika and sticking his tongue out like a child. Mika lets out a small laugh at Natsume’s attempt to make fun out of this… situation.

“You better. There’s no room for failure here—we need to always be one step ahead of the competition. But, that’s enough lecturing for now. Come along! We’ve got to debrief the rest of the organization,” Ibara informs the pair, though it’s probably nothing new for Natsue considering how much he seems to know about what’s going on. Turning on his heels, Ibara heads into LUNAR, the double doors automatically opening with a swoosh as soon as he’s within range of the sensors. Natsume follows suit, and Mika walks along right behind him.

Entering the building, it’s not at all what Mika would have expected. It’s futuristic just like the rest of the world he’s been able to see so far, with glowing rays of neon running up and down the walls. At the entrance is what looks like some sort of reception area—there’s a chrome desk, a couple of sofas and chairs, and some sort of screen monitor sitting atop the desk. The tiles below are black and the click of the three’s heels heading past the reception area and down a long hallway break the almost eerie silence inside of LUNAR.

Looking before him at Ibara and Natsume’s demeanor, Mika can’t help but feel out of place here. They both look so confident whereas he’s just lost, confused, and a little scared. Plus, he needs to find Shu again as soon as possible. Needs to make sure that’s he’s okay and that those… whatever they were didn’t hurt him. As soon as he gets the chance, finding Shu is his top priority. 

… Though, the more he thinks about Shu, Natsume’s words resound in his ear, mocking him.

_ “BoyfriEND.”  _

He can hear his teasing tone clearly, but… 

He won’t lie—hearing his name and “Shu’s boyfriend” in the same sentence does nothing but fill him with warmth, bringing a big smile to his face. Thankfully the hallway is dark enough and the glow from the lights on the walls is strong enough to ensure that no one will see the dark blush that’s creeping across his cheeks. Though it’s not like Natsume or Ibara are paying any mind to him; they’re walking with purpose, while Mika’s busy daydreaming. Noticing the gap that’s come between him and the others, Mika speeds up to a powerwalk and catches up with Natsume again.

Quickly, the hallway seems to come to an end. Following Ibara’s lead as he turns around the corner, the atmosphere is suddenly lighter—literally. Immediately after the initial hallway is what looks like a seedy bar. There is a counter and some bar stools to one side of the room with all sorts of bottles lining the shelves. Right above the counter is a neon sign with the exact same letters plastered outside of the building: LUNAR. Scattered around the rest of the room is a myriad of stools, chairs, and tables. There also seems to be some sort of dart game and a pool table towards the back. The decoration and furniture choice throughout the entire room is not much different than the rest of the world Mika’s been able to see so far—bright, neon colors and sleek designs. 

But what’s most striking about the bar isn’t the fact that it’s empty and abandoned like the building’s exterior would suggest. No, to go along with all the other motorcycles parked outside are bodies to match. From where he’s standing in the entrance right now, Mika can see some familiar faces. There are Chiaki and Kanata off at one table. Close to them are Midori, Shinobu, and Tetora. At a different table are Tsumugi and Sora. There are also some empty seats scattered throughout the room. 

Breaking off from the group, Natsume looks back at Mika as he heads in the direction of Tsumugi and Sora. “Better take a seat, soON.” 

Walking forward, Ibara goes on his own way to stand at a desk that’s prepared along the side of one wall. To the side of it is a swivel chair, turned so its front is facing the wall behind the desk. On the table itself is a stack of papers and some folders, both neatly organized. There’s also a pointer stick, probably to go along with the map of some sort of city plan that’s pulled down behind the desk. 

“Alright, everyone. Please take a seat. I’m going to begin the meeting now.”

Mika gives a little wave to Natsume as he goes to sit with Sora and Tsumugi. Looking around the room, Mika comes to the conclusion that he doesn’t have much of a choice—he’s got to take a seat and get through this meeting before he can find Shu. Maybe this will give him a clue about where to find him, and how to get back home.

The best way to figure out how to get to Shu… 

Kanata. Right there next to Chiaki. Conveniently, there’s an empty seat at their table. Eyes widening in realization, Mika skips over to their table and smiles down at Chiaki and Kanata, who seem to be absorbed in a conversation of their own. 

“Hiya…! Mind if I join ya guys?” Mika butts in, not expecting either of them to say no.

“Of course not! A hero always welcomes friends to join him—please take a seat, Kagehira!”

“Ahh, Mi-tan~ It’s so nice of you to join us for a change.”

“Ehehe, I just uh… thought I might change up m’routine a bit!” 

Glancing up at Ibara, Mika can tell that he’s shuffling some papers at the front of the bar. Looks like Mika has a little bit of time before the meeting starts.

Taking a seat, Mika uses this opportunity to gather some information from the duo. “What were ya up t’ before we all got ‘ere?”

Chiaki quickly looks at Kanata and then back at Mika before answering. The more he scrutinizes his face, Chiaki quickly comes to a realization. “Ah, that’s right—wait, your eyes. Kagehira, you  _ know  _ you’re not supposed to go out like that. I’ll have to have Shinobu start giving you reminders again.”

Gulp. Apparently going out the way he is now was a huge mistake—but it’s not like he knew any better. Mika could’ve sworn he woke up and got ready for school this morning, not a field trip.

“Ah—sorry… I’ll try t’be more careful…?”

“Good! That’s the kind of attitude that will get you far! I believe in you, Kagehira. Do good!”

“That’s right.~ You’d better cover it up somehow before the chief notices, though.”

“A—ah!” Panicking, Mika rests his elbow on the table and leans his head into his palm to cover one of his eyes. “This good…?”

“You look silly, Mi-san.~ But I’m sure it’s fine for now,” Kanata reassures.

“Right! Oh, wait, I forgot to answer your question. Before meeting up, me, Kanata, Shinobu, Midori, and Tetora went down to below the subway tracks to plant those bugs. Then we did the same thing near the park in the center of the city. And then after that, the three of us headed to the casino—but you already know what we were doing there. The chief’s probably going to want all the details though, so I’ll spare you for now so you don’t have to hear the whole retelling twice.”

“Mhm, that sounds just about right,” Kanata concludes, smiling softly at Chiaki. Then, his attention focuses on Mika, who’s looking up at the pair expectantly. Though his expression is more on the side of confused since he doesn’t have a single clue as to what they were doing at the casino. Not catching onto this, Kanata continues anyway. “Did you two manage to get the intelligence before we had to retreat?” Kanata asks, looking at Mika with a straightforward expression.

Uh oh.

Whatever he and Natsume were supposed to do, they didn’t do.

Hopefully, they won’t be in too much trouble. Apparently, Mika’s already got enough on his plate with his eyes apparently being taboo. What a way to take a stab at his self-confidence. He really wishes Shu was here to at least comfort him. He certainly wouldn’t have to hide his eyes around him. 

But before Mika has the chance to say anything else, Ibara is starting the meeting, slapping the papers in his hands onto the desk.

“Alright, everyone. Listen up—based on  _ some of you  _ arriving back early,” Ibara begins, eyes darting between Mika’s, Natsume’s, and Shinobu’s tables, “we all know that the mission was not a success. And while this is not ideal, do remember that this mission isn’t the end-all for our organization. We’ve got lots of big plans and the manpower  _ and  _ resources to do so. All we need is for everyone to cooperate, do their part, and respond accordingly to unexpected situations. Are there any questions before I move on?”

Ibara does a quick scan of the room before him. Seeing no one raise their hand or pipe up informs him that it’s time to proceed.

“Very well then. Let’s continue,” Ibara remarks, reaching down for the pointer stick that’s conveniently resting on the desk. He stands to the side of the map that’s cascading down the wall. Upon a more serious inspection, it looks less like it’s attached to the wall and more like it’s some sort of hologram. The lighting on it is so realistic Mika could have sworn it was nothing more than a poster. 

Slapping the stick against the map, Ibara captures Mika’s attention, getting him to sit straight up as the whap reverberates down his spine. Looking over at Chiaki and Kanata, neither of them flinch. It seems that they’re accustomed to Ibara’s straight-down-to-business personality type, even though it scares Mika.

“So, as you all know, we’re trying to take down STAR Corp. Thanks to Tsumugi’s lead, we were able to track down a clue giving up information about an elite STAR Corp member’s whereabouts,  _ here  _ at the casino,” Ibara illustrates, using the stick to point out the location of the casino on the map. But it doesn’t really mean anything to Mika. It’s just a point on a seemingly endless grid. “However, due to  _ circumstances  _ which will be addressed shortly that ship had to be abandoned and now we’re all back here.”

Gulp. Ibara’s  _ definitely  _ talking about him. It feels like the bar is becoming smaller and smaller around Mika, closing him in as Ibara shoots a piercing glare directly at him. 

“So, without further ado, Chiaki—please deliver a briefing of your unit’s assignment.”

“Yessir!” Chiaki calls out energetically, jumping up from his seat and pumping his fist in the air. In that one moment, he’s got enough energy to power the lot of motorcycles sitting outside in the parking lot. “Right, chief. So after placing the bugs, our unit split off and Midori and Tetora went back to the base to manage communications. Shinobu’s been training them so I don’t think that any issues occurred there. At the casino, the remaining members of our unit parked our bikes and then went underground to get in. From there, we worked our way up until we got to the second floor—no sight of anyone from STAR Corp, though. Really, nothing about it looked suspicious. We  _ did  _ come across a surveillance room, though. It was unattended and unlocked. Nothing stood out on the footage, but we did manage to extract a copy of the footage from the past week. Then, before we knew it the alarms were blaring and we had to get out of there. So, we didn’t complete the mission and find the member in question, but we hope that the footage we gathered will suffice!” 

At this, Chiaki produces what looks like a USB drive from his pocket and walks over to Ibara, placing it in his hands. 

Ibara nods along while listening to Chiaki’s retelling, accepting the flash drive once it’s offered to him. “Good to hear that the bugs were planted successfully. It’ll be useful for snagging prey.” 

… Prey? It’s hard to tell if Ibara means literally or figuratively just based on his tone alone. But… it’s not incredibly likely that this ragtag gang of Yumenosaki students has decided to undertake a career change and become hunter-gatherers. 

“Yessir—they were planted without issue. They’ll surely be a valuable asset for our mission!” 

“Excellent. I’m glad we’re all on the same page here. And as for the latter part of your mission—perhaps the footage you’ve gathered will provide us with some additional clues. Thank you, Chiaki.” 

“No problem—a hero always carries out his mission to the fullest, especially when we’re doing such good work. My pleasure!” With that, Chiaki takes his seat again and listens to Ibara continue to lecture on. 

“Well, it seems that at least one half of the mission went well. Now for the…  _ other  _ half,” Ibara says, holding back a groan to stay professional. Looking between Natsume and Mika, he doesn’t hesitate to call them up for a report. Definitely not good news for Mika. “Natsume, Mika. One of you—I don’t care who—please share how your unit fared before everything fell apart.” 

Before one of them stands up, Natsume and Mika exchange looks with one another.

With a nod, Natsume stands up. 

Thank god—Mika can feel a wave of relief wash over him. Knowing himself all too well, he’d just stumble over his words and make Ibara even angrier. Not to mention the fact that he doesn’t even know  _ why  _ he was there. How can he explain to someone something he doesn’t even know himself?

“Well, we got to the drop off point and then we headed right through the front door since we were trying to blend iN. It was going pretty well untIL…” Natsume begins, trailing off as he looks towards Mika. Gulp. He’s in danger. “Until  _ something  _ tripped the alarm and we were on the rUN. Honestly, we didn’t get to do muCH. We were on our way to the coordinates Midori and Tetora gave us—really, we were right down the hallway from iT. But then we had to run and we didn’t get a chance to even scope the place out or place a bUG. Sorry for failiNG.” 

… It’s awfully kind of Natsume not to rat out Mika like that. Especially since Mika feels like he’s done nothing but get on his nerves for the past hour and a half or so. Even though Ibara’s going to find out that Mika messed up one way or another if he hasn’t already. 

Ibara’s expression visibly sinks upon hearing Natsume’s retelling of the events. It’s clear from his posture, slightly faltering, that he’s disappointed in the results. With a sigh, Ibara sets the pointer stick down on the desk and rests his forehead in his palm. “We need to be doing better. We can’t be suffering losses like this—now that they know that  _ we  _ know something about the casino, they’re probably moving operations and we’ll have to start from the beginning. No matter how you look at it, this isn’t good.”

“On the contrary,” A new voice pipes up from the front of the room. Spinning around from the chair placed next to the desk is a clump of light green hair attached to a smirking individual. Hiyori. What’s he doing here—and why is he in a chair all to himself? “This is excellent news. If they  _ know  _ that we’re onto them at the casino, they’ll surely be shuffling to a different location. We just need to lay low and keep a watchful eye on the city. Plus, this will be good for us. We’re running low on supplies and it wouldn’t hurt to catch up with some of our contacts outside the organization. We may be able to gather some useful information from them.”

Standing up, Hiyori scans the room in front of him, making it a point to look everyone in the eyes at least once. Looking up at Hiyori, Mika feels a chill run down his spine. Out of everyone in this room, Hiyori looks the most out of place. Everyone around the room—especially Ibara—seems to be in some sort of rut of disappointment after failing the mission, but Hiyori’s enthusiastic. It’s unsettling. Plus, it wasn’t obvious until Hiyori stood up, but Mika takes note that Hiyori’s the only one that  _ doesn’t  _ have a gun holstered somewhere visible on his body. Rather, there’s a knife sheath clipped to the side of his belt. Something is off about him, but Mika can’t put his finger on it. 

Stepping away from the desk, Hiyori begins to walk through the set up of tables and chairs in the bar. Stopping right before Mika and looking him up and down like he’s a doll.

“Something’s not right with you.” Leaning down, Hiyori tilts Mika’s chin up, sending a shiver down his spine. This is weird. This is  _ really  _ weird, and crossing some boundary Mika didn’t realize he needed to establish. The only person who  _ ever  _ touched him like this was Shu. God, how he wishes Shu was here—he’d never be subject to someone else’s touch if that were the case. For now, he’s left to make anxious sounds and look away from Hiyori. He’s been found out, he’s going to be called out for being diff— 

“You don’t need to be afraid. Your eyes are an issue, but the real problem is your wardrobe choice. I’ve never seen you wear something so  _ hideous. _ Go change immediately, Mika-kun. My eyes are burning from having to look at you.” 

… Geez. That isn’t very nice at all. 

Releasing Mika from his fingers, Hiyori turns away as quickly as he initially approached Mika and sits atop the desk, careful not to damage Ibara’s documents. As soon as Mika’s free, he looks down at his clothes and then at everyone around him. Though the others didn’t seem to pay that little scene much attention, Mika’s suddenly aware of how he’s sticking out like a sore thumb. While everyone else is wearing some variation of a skin-tight or near skin-tight outfit, he’s stuck in his drab school uniform. 

Looking over at Ibara, Hiyori smirks as he crosses one leg over the other. “I think that’s enough for tonight.” 

With a sigh, and not really in the mood to argue, Ibara scans the room only to be met with looks ranging from exhaustion to neutrality to enthusiasm. With everyone seeming to be on a different page emotionally, it looks like it’s time to wrap the meeting up.

“... Well, I suppose the meeting’s over now. You’re all dismissed.” After giving instructions to the rest of the members, Ibara collects his papers and heads off to sit at one of the bar stools, examining the documents with a keen eye. 

Okay. Mika was able to follow some of the conversation. Still, there are only pieces that he’s able to put together. Hiyori’s appearance and subsequent  _ attention  _ was weird and probably unnecessary.

Now that the meeting is over, Mika should listen to Hiyori. He seems to be the  _ real  _ boss around here, even if Ibara is the so-called “chief.” Plus, the way Hiyori was touching and looking at him was uncomfortable. Mika would like nothing more than to leave this situation right now. Seeing everyone else get up, Mika decides to follow suit. 

“Good work today, Kagehira! Though we may not have succeeded this time, we’ll surely have another chance. You should go and get some rest now!” Waving to him, Chiaki flashes Mika a thumbs up before heading off towards the three members of Switch. 

Left alone with Kanata, Mika flashes him a warm smile. “Thanks fer chattin’ with me earlier.”

“Hm? Oh, it’s no worries. You’re lots of fun, Mi-san.~ I think our personalities are kind of similar so it’s easy for us to get along well,” Kanata voices, tone smooth and gentle. Mika quirks an eyebrow up, not entirely sure what Kanata’s trying to get at. Mika doesn’t see them as being very similar, but Kanata disagrees. Oh well. It’s not like Kanata’s someone he has difficulty getting along with, so he doesn’t mind the… compliment? Of sorts.

“Ah… mhm! Sure is…?” 

“Right. Well, I better go and head downstairs now. I need to check on my fish. I think they’re lonely and needing some friendship right now. Would you care to join me?”

“Ahh… ‘m sorry,” Mika begins, scratching at his chin. “I don’t think I got the energy in myself t’go an’ say hi to yer fish right now. Maybe another time.”

“Ah~ That’s alright. They’ll be waiting for you.” And with that, Kanata’s heading away from the bar and going through an entranceway with stairs. Eccentric as ever. Somehow, he seems like he fits in this strange scenario more than anyone else here. 

And as much as Mika would love to go and play with Kanata’s fish, he’s already decided to follow Hiyori’s advice. He mostly just wants to get away from here and get a break from everyone. Ever since school began this morning, he hasn’t had much time to himself and the pressure of having to socialize for such an extended period of time is finally beginning to weigh down on him. Especially without Shu by his side to lend a comforting hand, he’s alone and exhausted in unfamiliar territory. Really, he needs to find out where Shu is as quickly as possible, and just go home. 

But… he can’t do that until he figures out more information about where he is and why he’s here and why he can’t remember much of anything between school ending and waking up in a casino. Getting some answers about the environment he’s in and why he and his friends from school have suddenly joined some sort of motorcycle gang would also be nice. Surely this isn’t a new club. The student council would never have approved it.

Head reeling at all the possibilities, Mika takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. Following some of the tips Arashi gave him a while back when he was getting overwhelmed with life. Taking her advice, he breathes in and out slowly, focusing on his breath and not the unknown. Focusing on what he can control.

Once he’s calmed down and successfully prevented himself from spiraling, Mika takes another look at his surroundings. Everyone seems to be preoccupied with something. Mika doesn’t have the faintest clue where to go to get a change of clothes, and a pain has been gnawing at his chest for a while, a voice inside his head telling him that he’s been enough of a bother today. So, butting into someone’s conversation or work doesn’t seem like the best idea. Scanning the room, maybe there’s someone he missed who isn’t— 

Aha.

Shinobu. 

Sneaky Shinobu, trying to get away before anyone notices him. Walking out of the bar and up a flight of stairs tucked away at the far end of the room.

Not wanting to be seen as another annoyance, Mika follows after Shinobu wordlessly. 

Getting away from everyone else in the bar, Mika tiptoes his way over to the stairs. From the bottom, he can see the yellow glimmer of Shinobu’s jacket fly behind him as he climbs the last few stairs before disappearing beyond Mika’s line of sight.

Well, here goes. Mika might not be a ninja, or very stealthy, but Shinobu seems to be going… somewhere. Which is good enough for Mika—if it means he gets to get out of the stressful and frankly uncomfortable bar atmosphere, he’ll take it. 

Following up after Shinobu, Mika does his best to stay quiet while climbing the stairs. But also trying not too hard to fall behind. The layout of this building so far isn’t incredibly complex, but Mika doesn’t know the layout of it so it would be best if he  _ doesn’t  _ get lost. 

Almost at the top of the stairs—almost at Shinobu. Just one step, two steps, three, and— 

“Uwah!” 

Face planting against the tile is Mika. 

Turning around in an instant and hurling something metal that shines against the neon is Shinobu.

Uh oh. 

Without hesitation but with eyes as wide as saucers, Mika rolls to his right. Shinobu’s hand was fast to throw the shuriken, but thankfully, Mika’s reflexes are faster. Rolling with everything he has, Mika’s just fast enough to bodyslam the wall next to him as the shuriken digs into the wall behind him. That was  _ close. _ Waaaay too close for his liking. 

Add “nearly getting hit square in the face with a razor-sharp ninja star thrown by your junior” to the list of weird gang-member-cosplay-party-nonconsensual-LARP bingo. 

“AH! What’s the deal, Shinobu-kun?! Are ya  _ tryin’  _ t’hurt me?!” Mika cries out, pushing himself up off the floor and defensively taking a step away from Shinobu. 

“Gah—! Sorry, Kagehira-dono! It was an accident—I swear! I wasn’t trying to hurt you, specifically. I just wasn’t sure who it was and I didn’t see anyone from the organization follow after me, so I assumed it had to be an intruder of sorts. You really scared me,” Shinobu lets out, frantically waving his arms to calm down Mika, but also in some state of panic. Walking over to Mika, he extends a hand out to help him up off the ground. “Here.”

Taking the outreached hand, Mika uses Shinobu to help himself off the ground. Once he’s on his feet, he leans down and dusts himself off. Looking down at his pants he’s reminded why he’s up here in the first place. Costume change. 

Once Mika’s up, Shinobu walks over to the wall where his star is currently impaled and pulls it out like an expert, putting it back inside his jacket.

“So, Shinobu-kun,” Mika begins, gripping his elbow with one arm in all of his awkward glory. “Where d’ya think I can go an’ get some fresh clothes?”

Turning around from his place near the wall, Shinobu heads next to Mika, giving him a visibly confused look. “... What are you talking about?”

“M’ my clothes, they’re…”

Looking him up and down, Shinobu lets out a little giggle. “Oh, so you don’t like them either? I was wondering about the costume change. I thought it was part of the mission or something.”

“D-didn’t ya hear Tomoe-san, back downstairs?” Mika asks. He was under the assumption that everyone else thought that his change was weird but… clearly not? 

“... Listen,” Shinobu begins, quickly glancing from side to side to make sure the coast is clear. Holding a hand next to his mouth to shield their conversation from any unwanted ears, Shinobu leans in closer to Mika. “Don’t tell the chief or anyone but… I zone out a lot during the meetings.”

Ah. Mika can relate.

“Ahh, I getcha… but maybe, nnh, ‘s kinda bad t’be doin’ that... right?”

“Well, sure. But I can’t help it. Sometimes they’re just  _ so  _ boring and Saegusa-dono can go on forever and ever. But… I always know I can trust you, Kagehira-dono. So let’s keep this our own little secret, okay?”

“Nnnh… okay,” Mika replies, understanding but trying to set a better example for his junior. At the utterance, Shinobu lowers his hand and gives Mika some more space. “But anyways… ya never answered m’question. Clothes…?”

“Right! My apologies, Kagehira-dono. Please forgive my foolishness!”

“Ahhn, ya don’t have t’be so formal ‘round me, yanno.”

“... You’re my senior. I would prefer it.”

“... Well, alrighty then. I guess ‘s not as big of a deal as ‘m thinkin’ it is.”

“Right. And to answer your question, wouldn’t the best place to get a fresh set of clothes be your room?”

Of  _ course. _ Of course the best place to change into a new pair of clothes would be his room.

… Wait. 

He has a room?!

_ Wanting  _ to shriek and say that he doesn’t live here, Mika bites his tongue. Now, he’s really convinced this is some kind of a game. One hundred percent not a dream, but a game. So, the best thing is probably to go along with whatever everyone else seems to be saying. He doesn’t really feel like losing.

… If this is even a game that  _ can  _ be lost. So far it’s all too much for Mika to even begin to unwrap. 

Going along with what Shinobu says is probably best. They’re friends, so Mika’s pretty sure Shinobu would understand if he knew what position he is in.

… But wait. What position  _ is  _ he in? 

Clearing the thoughts away, Mika focuses back on Shinobu. There’s too much going on. If he’s got a room then he’ll probably have a chance to relax and collect his thoughts. And  _ then  _ he can finally go and find Shu.

“Nnnh… yeah! M’room, that’s right. Eheheh,” Mika begins, laughing to himself to fill the silence as he tries to think of something to say. After nervously glancing around the hallway, a light bulb of inspiration pops up in his head. “D’ya… d’ya think ya could walk me to it, Shinobu-kun? ‘m a lil’ on edge still from when ya threw that shuriken at me…”

“Oh! Of course—I’m really sorry for throwing it at you. I’ll walk you to your room and offer you protection. It’s the least I could do.”

Phew. That went well. 

Taking a step forward, Shinobu beckons Mika to follow him. “Let’s go.” 

“Alrighty!” 

With a spring in his step at something  _ finally  _ seeming to go the way he wants to, Mika follows Shinobu down the hall with excitement. Though… there isn’t much to be excited about because about three-quarters of the way down the hall Shinobu stops in front of a metal door. There’s nothing on the door other than the number 1127 embossed on the center, slightly above Mika’s eye level. 

“Well, here you are. I’m going to take my leave now. See you later, Kagehira-dono.” With the farewell, Shinobu continues down the hall until he enters a different room on the opposite end of the hallway. It’s too difficult to see what’s inside the room from Mika’s current angle. 

Left alone at the door, Mika gets a closer look at it. There isn’t a handle or anything, and it’s not opening automatically. Next to it is some sort of scanning pad. Afraid to touch it in case of setting off another alarm—a thing that he’s had enough of for one day—Mika gives the door a gentle rap. With a swish, it’s open in the blink of an eye. 

Stepping into what’s apparently his room, Mika takes in his new surroundings. The first thing he sees is a window going from the ceiling to the floor on the wall directly across from him. The glow from the city outside makes its way inside through the glass, but there are also neon lights emitting from the ceiling. Which is  _ odd, _ considering how dark the building looked from the outside. Perhaps the window is just one-way glass. It would explain why the building looked deserted even though there are plenty of people in it.

Other than the lights, Mika takes note of the furniture inside of the room as he walks through the doorway. There’s a bed, a desk, a chair, a table, a standing mirror, a dresser, and some sort of seating cushion. It looks kind of like an egg. With the exception of the desk, which is decorated with all sorts of personal items and a computer monitor, the room is spotless. Bed perfectly made, nothing left about on the floor, not a single speck of dust floating through the air. The room looks like it’d never been lived in. 

… Which is  _ weird.  _ Mika’s never been known for being tidy, so to find what’s allegedly his room in such a perfect state of affairs is peculiar. Maybe there’s a maid or a cleaning person, he reasons, though not really believing in it. This whole place is so strange, he’s not entirely sure what he should even be believing in at this point.

Stepping closer to the bed, Mika sees a set of clothes folded neatly in a pile.

Well… he came here for a reason and it seems like his intuition wasn’t incorrect. Leaning over, he picks up what seems to be a shirt and holds it in front of him. 

It’s so  _ tiny. _

He’s used to wearing baggy clothes from the Yumenosaki uniform, and though his unit outfits are a  _ little  _ tighter, they’re nothing like the piece of cloth in front of him. Looking around the room, there doesn’t seem to be a closet or any other clothes lying around. Sighing, he takes off his school uniform and kicks his old clothes into some pile on the floor. Hands stilling once he gets to the holster with the gun that’s still around his waist, it’s eventually pried off and placed gently on the bed. 

One by one, he picks up the outfit before him and puts it on. Shirt, pants, belt, jacket, cloth face mask, shoes. On the chest area of the shirt is a hot pink crescent moon, matching the logo of LUNAR that Mika spotted outside. Upon closer inspection, Mika realizes that everyone else had the same logo somewhere on their jacket. The shirt is sheer about halfway down, shifting from the smooth material to some type of mesh-fabric that is translucent against his stomach and hips. Right between his collar bones is a glowing diamond, split down the middle. Gold on the left, cyan on the right.

There’s also a hairclip with another crescent moon—though it’s neon turquoise— on it that he attaches to the left side of his bangs, clipping them partially away from his face. The entire outfit is mostly a single shade of dark green, almost black. There are streaks of neon turquoise running along the outfit in various arrow-like patterns, looking like some type of a motherboard.

The only thing left on the bed is an eyepatch—probably the one Natsume was referring to. Hesitantly, Mika extends a hand out for it but retracts it. He’s… had enough of going outside for today, and from what he’s been able to gather he won’t need to cover up his eyes unless he’s going into a public space. Everyone he saw downstairs didn’t seem to have an issue, but  _ apparently, _ the rest of the world does. Instead, his hand darts over to the gun and its holster. Picking it up, Mika fiddles with the straps until it’s tighter and then straps the gun to his thigh, just like Natsume had his. Not only does it look better this way, but it feels less bulky and awkward around his waist. 

Running a hand down his thigh to feel the material, Mika smiles at the touch. The texture is nice. Smooth. The clothes are tight but not uncomfortably so. Rather, it’s as if they were perfectly tailored to fit him. 

Looking at himself in the mirror he can’t help but blush. He looks good. He looks  _ amazing,  _ but… did Shu really make this? It’s not his style at all, but with the way Mika’s showing more skin than usual and this outfit is hugging his form, he can’t help but wonder what Shu’s reasoning was behind designing this.

Well, assuming  _ Shu  _ was the one to design this. But… if not Shu, then who? 

Nevermind that. He had things to do. Mysteries to uncover, questions to answer. A Shu to locate.

Walking over to the desk, it seems like it’s the best place to gather some clues. Everything else in the room is impeccable except for this desk, and it doesn’t seem like it’s the right time to back downstairs and socialize.

Standing over the desk, Mika finally begins to feel like this could potentially be his room with how cluttered it is. Upon closer inspection of the desk’s contents, he notices several things. There’s a computer monitor, some sort of smartphone-like device, a few envelopes, some stuffed animals, a business card, and a bunch of photographs clumped together. 

The first thing to look at is the photographs. They’ll probably give the best insight into what’s been happening lately and maybe bring back some fond memories.

On the desk, there’s a handful of polaroid-like photos scattered about. Though the photos don’t seem to be printed on regular film paper, but rather some sort of flimsy… plastic? It feels like plastic to the touch, but it could be made out of some carbon fibers as well. 

Scooping them up into a stack, Mika looks through the photos one by one.

Looking at the first picture, it’s a photograph of himself and Natsume hugging and smiling. It’s unclear who’s taking the picture since both of their hands are in the frame. There’s a heart drawn around them with ink that appears to be from a gel pen. Mika’s own handwriting is distinguishable at the bottom of the frame, reading “bff ♥.” Mika smiles at the picture. Not remembering taking it or posing for it, but being reminded of all the great time he’s spent with Natsume is enough to bring a smile to his face. Even if nothing makes sense, at least he’ll always have his friend. 

There are some other pictures of Mika and others, too. There’s one of Shinobu smiling next to a frog that’s been placed on the seat of his bike. There’s another one of Kanata next to what Mika assumes is his downstairs aquarium, what with the neon lights illuminating the foreground and a brief hint at some stairs in the background. Finally, there’s what looks like a group photo of everyone that was present at the meeting in addition to Jun and Nagisa. It’s taken right outside of the building, the pink LUNAR sign visible above everyone. There’s another heart around the group, this time with the caption “family ♥” at the bottom in Mika’s handwriting. 

Scrutinizing the images before him more closely, all the people photographed are wearing the same style of futuristic outfit that Mika saw them in tonight. With furrowed brows, he flips the cards over to find a date scribbled on them. They range from January 10 2630 to March 12 2630. That’s…

Those are dates that haven’t happened yet.

More importantly, those are dates that are more than  _ five hundred years _ into the future. 

Blinking rapidly and trying to get a grip, Mika refocuses on the back of the photos in front of him. Today, when he was at school, Mika knows for a  _ fact  _ that he wrote down the date of June 23 2020 in the corner of all his notes. 

That must mean… 

He’s in the future somehow. 

Or, someone went through and photoshopped him and his friends into a bunch of pictures and scribbled a random date onto the back.

… But why? To mess with him?

And the more he thinks about it, it’s not someone else’s handwriting. Everything written on these photographs is unmistakably his own. 

Suppressing the urge to want to crawl into bed and decidedly ignore all of these newfound problems and issues, Mika decides to get these pictures out of his sight. They’re an unwanted source of stress at the moment.

Pushing the flipped over images aside, Mika finds a handful of other pictures printed on the same type of material underneath. Upon seeing the first image in the pile, Mika squeaks like a mouse. Then, he does what’s most typical of himself—dropping them all over the floor and turning the neat and tidy room into a cluttered mess little by little. 

“Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no,” he begins to chant in a panic, running to sit on his bed and put his head in his hands. Groaning and wanting nothing more than to just disappear forever, Mika flops onto the bed. “What have I  _ done.” _

After a moment of resting his hands over his head and trying to block out the world around him—to no avail, of course—Mika reluctantly pulls himself off the bed to go and look at them once more. 

Squatting down on the floor, he begins to pick up the photos that he’s haphazardly tossed to the ground in his state of initial panic. Taking a deep breath, he braces himself for what he’s about to look at.

The first one is a picture of Mika smiling at the camera with Shu right beside him. It looks like Mika’s the one taking the photo since his arm can be seen extended on the side, almost as if he were taking a selfie. The backdrop is some sort of arcade-looking place if Mika’s interpreting it correctly. It’s too hard to tell for sure though since the lighting of the background is poor. What sends Mika’s face into a blushing mess, though, is the fact that Shu’s pressing a kiss against his cheek.

“Ahh... nnnh… I can’t believe this…” Really, there’s no way Shu would ever show  _ that _ kind of affection to Mika. And most certainly not in such a public setting. It’s uncharacteristic. 

Never in his  _ life  _ has Shu ever kissed him like that. Even though Mika thinks about it all the time and would really, really,  _ really  _ enjoy it, it’s… 

It’s never happened.

So, this picture is either an amazing photoshop attempt or…

Shu actually  _ did  _ kiss Mika. 

On the cheek. In  _ public. _

During what Mika assumes is some random made-up date in the future. 

Flipping the picture over, there isn’t a date or anything written on it. Though judging from how it was underneath the earlier pictures, Mika has a suspicion that it was taken before the other photographs he looked at.

Willing himself to calm down over such an intimate photograph, Mika looks to the next one. This time, it’s of the back of him and Shu, their fingers interlocked as they head up a flight of stairs. They’re looking at each other, Mika’s mouth open as if he’s speaking and Shu looking at him like a lovesick puppy. 

This one isn’t as much of a shock as the first one is. They’ve held hands plenty of times before, whether it was during practice, as part of one of their dance routines, or just on the walk home from school when Mika was feeling a little extra clingy. But the way Shu’s looking at him like that, like he’s the only thing in the world…

It’s not something Mika can recall ever noticing before. 

The third one is…

Oh, boy. It’s a ride. 

Shu and Mika. Kissing. Right on the lips, with the ocean behind them. The glow of the city shines on the water, and skyscrapers can be seen in the background. There are some strange looking streetlamps shining near them, but the two of them together are all that’s needed to light up the entire picture.

Again, it’s unclear who’s taking the photograph since Mika’s hands are wrapped around Shu’s neck and Shu’s hands are snaked down his back. Unless one of them has secretly grown a third arm, the photographer in question is a different person. 

This photograph… if it’s  _ real, _ it confirms what Natsume said earlier.

Shu’s his boyfriend.

Shu’s  _ his  _ boyfriend. 

They look in love in these pictures, so… it’s not too far fetched of a theory. Cocking his head to the side as he tries to make sense of the information he has. If Natsume was telling the truth and  _ not  _ just teasing Mika about having a boyfriend earlier, then… were there other things he said that were true as well? Meaning… that this might actually be the future, or some sort of alternate reality or dimension and not some weird game? It’s too much, and his head is beginning to spin just from thinking about it. 

Still, the more Mika stares at the photo, the more it makes his heart race and pound like there’s no tomorrow. As much as he wants it to be real, the fact that he doesn’t  _ remember  _ it is frustrating on its own. Sighing, Mika gets up from the floor. 

Taking the pile of photos in his hand, Mika places them in an unoccupied corner of the desk.

Okay. Time to examine...

Time to examine the computer monitor.

Sitting down at the desk, Mika taps the screen, the bright blue coming to life with text on the screen.

“Please enter your four-digit personal identification number.”

“... M’... what?”

Not really sure what number to punch in, Mika punches in a set of four numbers randomly.

“Access denied. Please enter your personal identification number. Hint: anniversary :)”

Anniversary, huh… Thinking back to what information Mika already has available, the code must be 0623. It's today's date, and it's technically before the group pictures, based on the pictures of Mika with Shu if you go back to the previous year--even though thinking about them makes his face flush red when he should be focused on trying to get into this computer. And there’s a picture of Shu kissing Mika at what looks like an arcade, so it’s plausible that this picture could be from the day they officially got together. Besides, there's got to be some reason why he's here in this place today. Plus, back at the arcade before ending up here they were kind of on a date...

Punching in the number...

"Access granted. Welcome,  **Mika Kagehira.** "

Yes! The password was a success!

Except… wait a minute.

If  _ today, _ June 23rd, is their anniversary… and assuming that Shu really is Mika’s boyfriend in this strange place…

Mika left Shu in the dust back at the casino. Too focused on his own problems to even think about how his actions might affect others. Leaving him behind like he was nothing. Being a bad boyfriend.

Though, in his defense, it did seem like he was on the verge of getting seriously injured, if not flat out  _ dying. _ Natsume’s panicked tone didn’t clear that thought away, either. 

Still… if it really is their anniversary, and if this really is some sort of weird dimension in the future, then Mika’s got a whole lot of explaining to do. But… where would he even begin? Coupled with the fact that he also allegedly stole his car—according to Natsume—salvaging this relationship is going to be a nightmare and a half. 

“Nnnah—’m such an idiot!” Crying out in distress, Mika plants his elbows on the desk and rests his head in his hands, sudden feelings of guilt, regret, and shame overwhelming him. 

God. What a mess he’s made of himself  _ and  _ his personal relationships. Now, with the realization of what he’s done, it’s time to turn attention away from the desktop for the time being. Not being in the right mindset to conduct meaningful research right now, looking through the computer in his current state might make him miss something important. Needs to clear his head first. 

So, taking attention away from the laptop, Mika scoots back in his chair and looks at the scene in front of him. Something lighter will probably be best to clear his mind and calm him down. After he’s calm, revisiting the computer should seem like no issue.

With the desktop now locked, the rest of the contents on the desk can be examined. 

Making eye contact with the stuffed animals, a sparkle twinkles in his mismatched eyes. Perfect—what better way to calm down and get a grip on this situation than with his favorite comfort objects? 

Reaching a hand across the desk, the two stuffed animals are plucked up from their resting place, finding a new home in Mika’s arms. Petting their heads, the soft velvety fur of the cat and dog plushies brings him immense comfort, almost instantly calming him down from the stress he unexpectedly encountered. 

Now, stroking their heads back and forth, there’s time to reflect on what’s just happened and get a grip on his emotions. It’s much easier for Mika to think and come to conclusions when there’s something that makes him feel at home right in his arms.

“Nnnh, alrighty, alrighty… so I gotta figure this out on m’ own it seems,” Mika says to himself, gently rocking back and forth on the chair while petting the plushies. Trying to rack his brains, he thinks back on what he’s learned about Shu.

So… they  _ have  _ an anniversary. And they’re officially in a relationship. And Mika stole his car at some unknown point. And then he ran away from him on a day he assumes that they were supposed to be celebrating together.

Which means… Mika needs to make this right somehow. First things first is finding Shu. Natsume seemed to know details about their personal life, so he might be a good lead. Kanata, if he’s not some weird version of himself, should still be good friends with Shu. He could potentially provide some valuable insight into Shu’s whereabouts in the city. Then, once he finds Shu he’ll be able to explain the beyond-words, downright  _ abnormal  _ day he’s been having. Start with what he knows and then get closer to the unknown. He trusts Shu so… Shu trusts him, too.

Mika hopes.

But… it’s Shu he’s talking about. The Shu that’s always there for him and supporting him and believing in him, even if it does occasionally come out in his own weird way to show appreciation. Looking down at the plushies, they fill him with a sense of confidence. Right. He just knows Shu will be understanding. Confused, but he’ll understand Mika’s point of view.

With all of this in mind, a sense of relief washes over him. At least now that he’s had time to consider what’s happened and what he can do to go forward, his anxiety is lesser and he finally feels ready to go and examine some of the other objects on the desk.

Time to take one last look at the plushies in his arms. Cute animal faces smiling back at him never fail to exert a calming force on him and ground him, even if he doesn’t know their story or how they even appeared in this futuristic room. They look out of place. Like they shouldn’t be here.

… Just like him.

_ Nnnh, don’t like that, _ Mika thinks to himself. Brushing the sudden burst of negativity away is for the best. Just need to think about soft and adorable plushies. Looking down at their kind smiles, Mika subconsciously mirrors their expression. Problems, stress, and negativity aside, it’s no matter. They’re cute and they make him happy. He doesn’t need anything else right now.

Right. Back to the rest of the desk. Mika should now…

Mika should now take a look at the smartphone. After setting the plushies back on the desk, Mika picks up the phone. Lifting it up, the screen comes to life. It doesn’t look like it’s personalized or anything, though. He’s met with a simple lock screen wallpaper of turquoise. 

Wait, it’s locked. Hm. Maybe the same password from the desktop will unlock it. Messing around with the screen, Mika searches for some way to input a code or a password to unlock the phone. After pushing on it and swiping at the screen mindlessly, a keypad doesn’t show up. Instead, the screen begins to glow, emitting a wave of particles that scan Mika’s face, beginning with his forehead and ending with his chin.

Once the device has finished its scan, a message pops up on the screen of the smartphone.

“Error. Face not recognized.” 

… Weird. Okay, time to get the scan to start up again. No quitters here, not when he’s got to find Shu and figure out how to get home ASAP.

Tapping the screen until the scan pops up again, Mika lets the machine do its magic once again.

Only to be met with the same message.

“Error. Face not recognized.”

Okay, this is just mildly annoying now. He’s  _ definitely  _ got a face. Maybe not a whole lot of brains, but he’s definitely got a face. Shu’s always going on and on about how pretty it is so he takes minor offense from the audacity of this piece of technology.

Pushing on the screen again, Mika gets the scan to start up for the third time. Going down his face from the top, it might be promising this time. The third time’s the charm, right?

Wrong. 

“Error. Face not recognized. Human not detected. You have failed the scan three times now. Please scan one of the authorized human’s faces to unlock this device. You have seven attempts remaining until the device will be locked for twenty-four hours.”

Wait. Ignore everything else in the message.

_ “Human not detected?” _

This…

This just hurts. 

In the months since his last performance with Valkyrie as a trio, Mika’s been trying to get over his doll complex. Slowly, slowly. Trying with all his might but still taking each day one step at a time. Coming to realize his self-worth as something more than being a puppet for someone else. Finally coming to learn to love himself and how he’s unique, how he’s real, how he’s…

How he’s human.

So, hearing this random piece of technology tear everything that he’s been working towards for months to shreds with a single sentence it…

It’s painful. It hurts, the pain gnawing at his chest anew. Wanting to curl up into a ball and stop trying. Wanting to be held by Shu and have him whisper sweet nothings, telling him that everything’s okay. Tears are beginning to prick at the corner of his eyes, slowly spilling out. What’s the point? Really, if a tiny computer can’t tell that he’s a human, how can anyone else? How could someone who’s not just a machine be able to tell the difference? 

In a fit, Mika chucks the phone away from him, the device hitting the bed and bouncing away. Sniffling, a hand comes up to wipe at his tears. Turning his chair away from the bed, Mika breaks down and sobs, feet coming up to the chair so he can bury his face into his knees. Hiding from the world, because why bother being present if he’s not even human?

After ten minutes or so of feeling like utter shit, Mika finally lifts his head from its hiding spot when he feels like there are no more tears to be shed. Eyes puffy and cheeks red, he uses his sleeve to wipe at his face. Taking a deep breath and trying to compose himself. He needs to find Shu as soon as possible. 

This world? It sucks. 

If only Shu were here to make it better.

In Mika’s mind, three lines are looping on repeat. Have to find Shu, have to make things right with him. Have to go home. Can’t forget any of this. 

Bracing himself to see if anything else on this desk would like to take a stab at his self-perception, Mika reaches for the…

Mika reaches over to the computer monitor again. Fully sitting up from his slump, he punches in the password again, sniffling occasionally. Greeted by a plain turquoise wallpaper that complements his outfit perfectly, Mika examines the contents of the desktop. It’s mostly empty, but there are a few icons on the bottom right corner. One icon is an envelope, another is a speech bubble, and the final icon is a gear. Hovering over each icon one by one, a tooltip indicates that they are programs for an email client, an instant messaging program, and the computer’s settings.

Tapping on the speech bubble icon first, a menu with lines appears. It looks like there would usually be messages here but… it’s entirely empty except for one group chat at the top. The members are Mika, Natsume, Tsumugi, and Sora. Huh. Being with Switch isn’t something Mika usually sees himself as, but he doesn’t  _ hate  _ anyone there so it’s not much of an issue. Besides, he’s got Natsume so it’s alright.

Opening up the group chat, there are only two messages. One is from Sora, asking “where everyone is” at 1:33 pm. The next one is a reply from Tsumugi with the exact same timestamp, saying that they’re “in the server room.” Wherever that is. Trying to scroll up is futile; there are only two messages so the system doesn’t even let Mika pull down on the menu to try and see more. Exiting out of the group chat, Mika’s once again met with the mostly-empty chatting app. 

It’s weird that there are no other messages. It could be that someone cleared them beforehand. Or… it could be that nobody talks to him. Frowning, Mika feels his heart sink a little bit as he looks at the mostly empty screen in front of him. He’s not  _ that  _ unpopular, is he? Sure, he’s awkward and isn’t the best at making friends, but… 

There are still  _ some  _ people who like to talk to him… right? He’s not that lonely… isn’t he? He’s got Sh—well, maybe not. There are no messages from him on this computer. 

Sighing, the negative feelings are once again building up. It’s time to close this app and open something else, like…

It’s time to open something like the settings. 

Why? 

… Lack of impulse control? 

He can’t help it—the gear icon reminds him of Shu and Valkyrie and he really,  _ really  _ misses Shu and Valkyrie right now. Seeing the gear is just a mind association, though. It’s not like he’s expecting to find a high-resolution picture of Shu in the settings.

Tapping the icon, Mika’s thoughts aren’t wrong. Inside the settings menu are… settings. Just plain old settings, nothing special. There’s an option to change the display colors, a menu to show the list of programs on the computer (why that exists when there are only three programs isn’t intuitive, but, it’s best not to think too hard about the nuances of this particular computer), something about being connected to a local wireless network, a button to change his personal identification number, and finally, there’s even an option to adjust the screen brightness. 

Well, none of these things mean anythin— 

Before closing out of the menu, the bottom of the popup shows a small line of text. 

“Last restored to factory settings: June 23rd, 2630 at 3:11 am.”

That’s weird. He has no recollection of resetting his computer at 3 in the morning. That’s way past his bedtime. 

Shrugging, Mika closes out of the program anyway. Nothing more to see there. This just leaves the last application left: the emails.

Navigating to the envelope icon, Mika gives it a tap and it opens up. And it’s just like the scenario with the instant messages, only worse.

This time, there are no messages whatsoever.

He… he really is that unwanted, huh? And while he thinks that his heart can’t sink any deeper inside his chest, for the umpteenth time that night, he finds himself dead wrong as that familiar yet uncomfortable feeling makes itself known again. Being with people he considers friends is important to him, but… it’s kind of hard and alienating if he’s the only one who seems to view them as friends. 

They all probably hate him or something. Why else wouldn’t they send him messages? It’s not adding up.

Wanting to get out of this menu to not be reminded anymore of how clearly  _ unwanted  _ he is, Mika’s finger hovers over to the exit button, about to click— 

A pop up appears on the screen.

“You have one new email. Would you like to view the message?”

Well… at least it’s something. It’s  _ probably  _ not hate mail or anything, so there’s no harm in opening it. Time to read what it says.   
  


**From:** Ibara Saegusa   
**To:** LUNAR [ALL]

Good evening,

Thank you all for attending tonight’s meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to get to hear your retelling of what happened earlier. Let’s try to keep what happened in mind so we can all reflect on it to make sure the same mistakes aren’t repeated. Do not put the mission at risk because of your inability to function as a team. 

After the meeting, I received some valuable information from one of our business contacts outside the organization. Attached are high-definition photographs of four suspects from STAR Corp. Our contact has been following them closely—this is the same contact who gave us the tip that they were seen at the subway and the park on multiple occasions. Hopefully, the bugs Morisawa-san and his team planted will pick up something. 

Please study their pictures in detail. Don’t forget their faces. Remember—they look cute, but do not forget: they are the enemy. They are our targets. We need to take them down. 

In essence, good work as usual, though there’s always room for improvement. Do not lose sight of the mission. We’re getting close. With the information we have now, I think that we’re almost ready to make our next big move against STAR Corp. 

Good luck out there. 

Sincerely,

Chief Ibara Saegusa

PS: Since some of you seem to forget often (even though I remind you frequently  _ and  _ it happens every time), this email will be automatically deleted ten minutes after opening it. So, study those faces and do it well.   
  


… Well, that’s not what he was expecting at all. Ibara’s scary even through email. Well, rather, it could be that he’s even scarier through email. What’s all this talk about “targets'' anyway? It must be time to open the attachments. They’re probably big, beefy, scary tough guys who look like they could snap Mika like a twig.

Well, as long as he doesn’t have to look at them for too long.

Scrolling down to the attachments, Mika has a vague idea of what to expect. Click.

Oh.

There isn’t a single thing in the world that could have prepared Mika for what sits on the screen in front of him. 

It’s a close-up image of Nazuna, Tomoya, Mitsuru, and Hajime. Walking through some sort of park in the middle of a city, smiling just as brightly as ever. They’re wearing some sort of futuristic outfit as well. Still, even with the strange outfits they don’t look menacing in the slightest. 

…  _ These  _ are the “targets”?!?!

WHAT? 

Mika can’t help but let out a hearty laugh to himself in the room. Ibara’s scary, sure, but he’s also hilarious. There’s no way Ra*bits are part of some crazy weird evil-sounding organization. The rest of the weirdness in this situation, Mika can pardon but… Ra*bits being evil.

… Does this mean that  _ Ibara  _ is afraid of them? What are they going to do… be cuter than bunnies? 

Nope. It’s not happening. This is too wild. 

Laughing to himself, Mika wipes a tear that’s managed to escape his eye. Thankfully, at least he’s finally crying for a different reason now. 

Seeing no need to pursue the document any further, he closes the email client and locks the desktop. Looking around at the desk, there are only a few more things left to examine.

Might as well go and check out the envelopes that are conveniently laying in front of him. It’s weird—just like the stuffed animals, they stick out as being low-tech in this high-tech environment. 

Moving some miscellaneous objects to the side to get a better view of the envelopes, Mika finds three envelopes in front of him. One is sealed and two are open.

Picking up one of the open envelopes, there’s a piece of paper sticking out. It looks like the envelope hasn’t been torn. Rather, it appears that it’s open because it has yet to be sealed and sent off to the recipient. Time to open it up and find out who it’s for.

June 20, 2630

To my best friend Nacchan,

I’m really glad we’ve been friends for so long. I’m writing this by hand cuz it feels really personal! Plus… Maybe I didn’t want Shinobu to snoop and see what kind of things I’m sending to my friends. I don’t want him t’feel left out, either. Yanno, since he’s been doing communications and stuff. It’s not really my job so I’m not sure of the details but I’m pretty sure all our messages get stored in some sort of database or something. I know that the messages get deleted by the end of the day but… sometimes I just want something that will last, right? And something that others aren’t gonna see. I hope you feel the same so I hope that this letter is something that you can look back on and smile! It’s not super long but maybe I’ll write more in the future!

Your friend,

Mika :) 

That’s really sweet. Though he doesn’t remember writing this at all, reading it is enough to bring a smile to his face. He’s glad to have someone like Natsume in his life, and surely Natsume will feel the same towards Mika once he gets a chance to read this. Tucking the paper back inside the envelope, Mika closes it and puts it off to the side. He’ll give it to Natsume later. Yeah. He won’t forget. 

Now that that’s squared away, it’s time to examine...

Moving on to the other open envelope, this time the edge has been frayed as if someone opened it. Must be for Mika. Fine. If he doesn’t get much virtual mail, physical mail is fine. Without hesitation, Mika pulls out the contents of the envelope and begins to read.

June 16, 2630

To my beloved,

When I first met you I wasn’t sure what I was getting involved in. It was dark, I was lost and afraid and bitter, I didn’t want anything to do with the world around but then… You were there and you  _ saved  _ me. I really thought I wasn’t going to make it. Yet you were there and that was what made all the difference. 

You… You’ve taught me all about a world I never even knew existed. You’ve shown me so many things and taken me to so many places (though I still get kind of nervous when I’m on your bike. But I trust you with everything). But most of all, you’ve given me all your love, your entire heart and there’s nothing for me to say to that than the following:

I love you more than anything else in the world. 

I wish you didn’t have to be so busy with work all of the time. I can’t wait to see you next week.

With love,

Shu ♥

Mika’s on the verge of needing serious medical attention because he  _ swears  _ that his heart just about stops when he reads those three words: I love you. This really is otherworldly, Shu… Shu loving him. 

Shu being in love with him. 

Heart pounding, speeding up and thumping beyond belief while a warm flush dances across his cheeks, the smile spreading across Mika’s face is uncontrollable. Stomach fluttering, doing leaps and flips as well. It’s hard to believe that Shu would ever write something so sweet and for  _ him.  _ It’s time for Mika’s tenth crying session of the day at least. He supposes that all of Natsume’s earlier teasing was warranted after all. Shu really is his boyfriend in this world.

Fighting the urge to combust over how thoughtful and loving this letter was, Mika opts to giggle to himself and shut his eyes as he daydreams about all sorts of fun scenarios where they’re in love and maybe they’re holding hands and if they’re feeling  _ extra  _ risque, they might kiss— 

Except his eyes open suddenly upon realizing the implications of this letter.

Shu poured his heart out for Mika, looking forward to seeing him after what’s been apparently a good amount of time, and…

And Mika blew him off.

Instead of audibly groaning, this time it’s more like a yell. Hopefully, the walls are soundproof. Wouldn’t want the neighbors to hear the ungodly scream that just left his lips. 

The fluttering in his stomach is replaced with a heavy weight as sense of guilt gnaws at his consciousness. Setting the letter down, he’s had enough of this. Even though it was so sweet and brightened up his strange day, he’d rather not look at it anymore because it’s too reminiscent of all of his current problems. 

Well… there’s only one more thing left to do. Picking up the final envelope, this one’s seal shut. Flipping it over to see if it’s addressed to anyone, Mika finds something ominous written in red and underlined several times on the face of the envelope.

**“DO NOT OPEN UNTIL JUNE 27TH, 2630.”**

That’s four days from now.

So, it’s best not to open it then. There’s no point in being impatient. Plus, the big red circles and lines are scary. Why bother risking getting scolded or punished? 

So, setting the closed envelope to the side, there’s only one thing left on the desk to be examined: the business card.

Picking it up, the card is a sleek all-black design with a neon pink crescent moon in the center of one side of the card. Flipping it over are silver letters. LUNAR. In a smaller font below the organization name are another string of words. Legion for Unincorporated Nuclear Age Resurrectionists.

Huh. LUNAR. 

That’s a lot of big words. Too much for Mika to figure out right now. Yawning, his brain’s just about shut off.

But, he can’t sleep just yet. After conducting all this research, Mika’s now sure beyond a doubt of one thing:

He’s not from this world.

This world isn’t his. His world is back at Yumenosaki, as an idol. Not as some rogue gang member who has a hitlist and ditches his boyfriend on their anniversary. Based on what he knows from the Natsume back home, this must be some sort of alternate dimension he’s been transported to somehow. He needs to find out where he is, how he got here, and how to get back home. Plus, he needs to find Shu, too. If Shu’s here as well, he needs to come back home with him.

Getting up from the chair and leaving the desk and all of its contents behind, Mika heads towards the door. There’s more work that needs to be done to get home, and he can’t do it just by sitting around here. 

But… there’s a sense of hesitation before taking the final step out of the door as reflections about his current situation run through his mind.

_ I’m out of place. _

_ I don’t fit in.  _

_ I’m an anomaly. _

_ … I’m not supposed to be here. _

It’s not the first time in his life that he’s had thoughts like this, though it is the first time he’s having these sorts of thoughts in the context of being in an alternate dimension. Really… there’s no way to stress enough about how utterly stressful, confusing, and hurtful this situation is. Wanting to leave the negativity that he’s come to associate with this room behind, Mika lifts up a hand to open the door and get back downstairs. Perhaps there’s someone he could talk to who could take his mind off of this, or maybe someone who can help him get home.

And right as he’s ready to step outside, there’s a steady beeping coming from somewhere in the room. 

“Agh!” He exclaims, initially jumping in a panic at the sudden sound. It’s been so quiet in the room that he’s come accustomed to it, so hearing something come almost out of the blue is alarming. But, it’s just a beeping. It’s not something terrifying like an animal growling. Deciding to investigate, Mika heads towards the sound only to find that it’s coming from the bed.

Ah. 

The smartphone he threw at the bed a while ago because he was feeling upset over not having anyone talk to him. With the way it’s beeping, it seems like he might just have some new messages. Maybe a friend wants to talk to him.

Running towards the bed, Mika picks up the glowing device with a warm smile. 

Except the smile fades as soon as he reads the message from Shu. 

“Meet me at our spot in 20 minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOO THIS CHAPTER GOT SO LONG LIKE I DIDN'T INTEND ON IT BEING SO LONG BUT... HERE WE ARE THANKS FOR READING
> 
> chapter 4 will be opening up for Plot Progression Votes & Theories starting either today or tomorrow so uhhh.... join to server if you want to scream with a bunch of other enstarries about whatever the hell is going on in here (also you can't tell just by reading this but there's games i have planned where you guys get to puzzle out passwords and stuff so if problem solving is something you like consider joining so you can participate in the next puzzle =D) server link is below!!
> 
> if you like my content please consider supporting me!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sakradevi) | [my other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/works) | [valkyrieP discord server](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) ☆彡


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mika gets in trouble, runs away, plays a game (...?), reunites with shu, and gets in some MORE trouble. typical kagehira shenanigans. 
> 
> the plot thickens.

“What the heck is ‘our spot’?!” Mika exclaims to no one in particular, flopping his back against the bed and fixating on the metal ceiling above. “An’ 20 minutes?! How the heck am I suppose t’get somewhere I don’t even know in 20 minutes? Nnnh, Oshi-san’s already pretty mad at me prolly an’ now he’s just gonna be even more mad cuz ‘m not gonna make it in time cuz I don’t even know what kinda place he’s talkin’ ‘bout, ahh…” 

“Aha, wait a minute!” Rocketing straight up, Mika picks up the phone in his hand. He can just text Shu back and ask— 

…

He can’t unlock his phone.

Crap. Getting help directly from Shu is out of the question. 

This means that Mika’s got to go back downstairs. Perhaps seeking out Kanata or Natsume would be the best bet for getting a lead on the location Shu expects Mika to meet him at. 

Pushing himself off the bed, Mika pockets the smartphone. Even though it can’t be unlocked, having it on him doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. Walking over to the desk, the three pictures of him and Shu are clear as ever. One at the arcade, one on a set of stairs, and one with the ocean behind him. Upon a closer examination of the ocean picture, there appear to be some stairs peeking out in the corner. 

Smiling at them, they still make Mika feel  _ so  _ happy inside, even if his relationship with Shu at the moment is questionable. Filling him with a sense of warmth, he pockets them as well, being careful not to bend the edges or damage the images. Keeping them right with him like a comfort object of sorts creates a feeling of security. A feeling that he really needs right now as it feels like nothing in this world is concrete.

Turning around from the desk, Mika’s ready to head for the door. Except he stops in his tracks when he sees the dark green and teal eyepatch laying on the bed, sitting there ready for him to pick it up. 

And judging on how much trouble he had apparently gotten everyone into earlier by forgetting to wear it, repeating that same mistake isn’t something he’d like to do. Taking the eyepatch in his hands, Mika holds it out in front of him. With the way it’s designed, it’s only fit to cover one eye: the gold one. Feeling self-conscious over having to hide his face—something that he finally was able to get over—Mika reluctantly places it over his eye and fastens it in place. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, it’s difficult to form a smile at how he looks. Sure, the rest of his outfit makes him look  _ good. _ But it’s more about how he feels about having to conceal what’s part of his identity that makes his heart sink. Plus, Shu’s probably not going to like him with his eye covered—another reason he’s going to be mad at him.

Sigh. He’s in so much trouble. Solving everything is hard, but figuring out where to even begin addressing all the problems is harder. 

After making sure his hair is in place and double-checking that he’s got the photographs and smartphone in his pocket—and of course, patting his pockets more than necessary to make sure that he really  _ did  _ take them with him—it’s finally time to head out and reconnect with whoever is still downstairs. 

Heading out towards the door, it swishes open and Mika’s ready to go until he’s walking right into yet  _ another  _ person. This is the second time tonight. He’s got a problem. 

Jumping back with a yelp, Mika clutches his chest in a dramatic fashion. “Jeez Shinobu-kun, seems like yer just out t’get me today! Been givin’ me spooks left and right, yanno!”

“Ah—my sincerest apologies once again, Kagehira-dono! It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. I’m truly sorry,” Shinobu says, bowing apologetically in what’s definitely waaay too formal for someone like Mika. Standing up, he smiles at Mika. “I actually came here to ask you something.”

“... Oh?”

“Yes. I was wondering if you’d like to come downstairs and join me and some of the others for some fun and relaxation. To take a break and calm down after tonight’s mission. I think it would be fun, and you’ve been kind of withdrawn today, so I hope I’m not coming in at a bad time.”

Oh. This is unexpected. Shinobu’s timing is downright god awful. Mika’s already spent more time than he needs  _ not  _ looking for Shu. Wasting more time looking for him isn’t just a bad idea, it’s also not helping the situation he’s in right now. The situation where he’s supposed to meet Shu at some undisclosed location he’s  _ supposed  _ to know about but doesn’t.

“Ahhh, no thanks. ‘m gonna have t’pass tonight, cuz ‘m kinda in a hurry… Sorry, Shinobu-kun. Maybe another time?” Mika offers gently, giving Shinobu a smile that he can’t see because the cloth face mask is covering his mouth. 

“Oh, really? You’re going somewhere?” Shinobu asks before stopping himself. “Err, well. I should have guessed that already since you have your eyepatch on and all.”

Tentatively reaching a hand up to feel at the fabric, as if checking to make sure that it’s actually there, Mika’s once again reminded of his unfortunate fate of having to wear this humiliating thing over his eye. “Hahah, ermm…. Yeah. Got it on. Gonna head out.”

“Well, good luck! Stay safe. Actually, wait a minute. Say, where are you headed?”

“Oh! ‘m gonna go an’ find Oshi-san. He told me t’go an’ meet him at our spot in ‘bout 20 minutes. So I gotta hurry cuz I forgot where it is. An’ I think he’s really mad at me already so I gotta go an’ fix all the mistakes I made. So, let’s hang out another time. Okay?” 

“Err… you… you forgot where it is?”

Uh oh. 

He probably wasn’t supposed to say that. His act is slipping. Someone’s going to soon notice that he’s not supposed to be here. And Mika has no idea how that’s going to go down—someone might yell at him or get mad at him or punish him somehow. Yikes, just the thought of it sends a shiver down his spine. 

“Ahaha, erm…”

Pausing, Mika looks over Shinobu. His demeanor and personality is just like the Shinobu he knows back at Yumenosaki. While this  _ has  _ to be a different Shinobu, they’re still so similar. And deep down, they must be the same person. So, Mika can trust him. It’s time to come clean and maybe use this as a chance to finally get some help. Ripping the bandaid off, Mika mentally prepares himself for what he’s about to do. 

He can trust Shinobu. Shinobu will help him. 

“The truth is... I don’t remember where our spot’s supposed t’be cuz ‘m not from this world. So I don’t really know what’s goin’ on, or where I am, really. So… I don’t remember where Oshi-san is cuz I don’t think that I ever knew where he wanted t’meet me in the first place. So. I guess… sorry, ‘m ramblin’. ‘m just lost, I guess.”

Looking up at Shinobu, a pleading blue eye meets two blank golden eyes. An uncomfortable silence fills the air until Shinobu slices through the tension with an unwanted suggestion.

“Kagehira-dono, I think you shouldn’t go out.”

What.

No. No no no no no. He needs to go out. He  _ has  _ to. Finding Shu is his number one priority right now. He can’t be stuck here. 

“No, I—”

“I think you must have hit your head or something while we were trying to escape the casino. You’re really out of it to be thinking like this… maybe it’s amnesia? I’m not sure. Let’s get you to Tsumugi as soon as possible so he can assess you and see what’s wrong.” Without hesitation, Shinobu’s taking him by the hand and pulling him out of the doorway and down the hall towards the stairs where he nearly lost his eye. This is bringing him major flashbacks to when Natsume was dragging him all around the casino like he was nothing. 

… And actually, the more it happens the more he’s coming to realize. Maybe… he doesn’t have an identity. He’s not allowed to show his eyes, he’s not allowed to do what he needs to do, he’s not allowed to go and see Shu, and... he’s not allowed to be his own person. It’s like he’s some lifeless puppet at the mercy of the world around him.

Just the thought makes him feel nauseous. 

He really needs Shu here to reassure him. To tell him that everything will be okay. To take him by the hand and just go home.

Coming to realize how dire the need to go to Shu is, Mika yanks his arm out of Shinobu’s grip. There isn’t time to go and hang out with him right now. He’s got his own personal mission and business to attend to, and it doesn’t involve spending spare time under Tsumugi’s care. There isn’t a watch or a clock in his line of sight, but he’s spent more time than necessary getting dragged down the hallway by Shinobu.

“Eh—? Kagehira-dono?”

Looking into Shinobu’s eyes he looks… hurt. Like Mika’s just betrayed him or something. Wincing at the sad look he’s now on the receiving end of, Mika quickly explains himself.

“S-sorry, Shinobu-kun! ‘m  _ really  _ in a big hurry an’ I really gotta go..! I promise I’ll be back later, ‘kay?”

And without waiting for Shinobu to give him a reply, Mika’s running down the hallway as fast as he can. Jacket coat flapping behind him, it nearly catches on the railing as he turns down the stairs and keeps running. That would’ve been bad—if he fell down the stairs it wouldn’t just be a testament to his clumsiness, but it also might have made him actually in need of medical attention, hence slowing him down even more. 

Though, fortunately for Mika (and Shu, by extension), the stairs don’t prove to be a hindrance as he’s able to make it to the bottom of them without an issue. Practically jumping down onto the floor once he’s on the last few steps, Mika’s looking around to see where the hallway he first entered the bar area is. During his scan of the area, the movement of bodies at one of the bar’s tables alerts Mika that he’s not alone in this room. Oh no. Another opportunity to get stalled when he’s got important things to take care of, like go and find and try to placate his apparent boyfriend. 

It’s hard to ignore the others in the room, though. There’s Sora waving excitedly at him with Natsume sitting across on the other end of the table with his back facing Mika. Tsumugi’s in between both of them and looks up at Mika fondly once he’s alerted of his presence by Sora’s enthusiastic arm movements.

“Mika-chan! Come play with Sora~!” 

… Yeah. He needs to go and spend time with Switch. There—there isn’t something… more important he should be doing. Right. Spending time… with Switch. Yeah. The world around him, the bar atmosphere, it’s getting blurry. Feeling like he has no free will, Mika looks over at the table they are sitting at. 

Like a zombie, as if he has no control over his body, Mika’s pulled by some unknown force over to Switch’s table. Letting his body take him where it needs to go, vision feeling fuzzy. 

“Mmm, hiya, everyone,” Mika drawls out, not really able to make or maintain eye contact, instead focusing on the table in front of him as he takes a seat between Natsume and Sora. And while everything else in the bar around him is unclear, _ glitching, _ almost, the cards on the table are clear as ever. The same goes for the friendly and familiar faces around him—Sora with his head being held up by his palms, elbows resting on the table; Natsume, tongue sticking out in concentration as he looks at the cards in his hand; Tsumugi, smiling softly at Mika and shuffling a deck of cards, probably in anticipation for Mika to join their game. 

They seem safe. The world around him is twisting and turning, falling apart, perhaps. But… here at their table is fine. It’s just… him and Switch. Him and Natsume, his best friend. Him and Sora and Tsumugi, some other good friends. They’re all in a group chat together, so… yeah. A great bunch here. His head throbs, and feels like he’s undergoing the human equivalent of glitching out.He can’t shake the feeling that this doesn’t feel real. Like he’s in a different dimension or something equally bizarre.

“Won’t you come and stay with us?” Tsumugi asks, getting ready to hand Mika a cluster of cards.

Might as well sit and stay for a game. Yeah. Games are fun. 

“Mmmm, suuuure will~” Mika lets out softly, clearly in a daze. “Got… not much else t’do… Let’s play… Oh. Wait. What’re we playin’?”

“Oh, we’re playing **Switch.** ”

That isn’t a name he’s familiar with. Looking around the table, there’s some sort of machine in the center with a slot to insert a card. There are also cards scattered around the table, though Tsumugi looks like he’s in the process of collecting all of them, as evidenced by how he plucks a handful of cards right out of Natsume’s hands. 

“Hey!” 

Ignoring Natsume, Tsumugi continues smiling at Mika. The atmosphere around the table is still fuzzy and confusing, but sitting at the table with Switch is calming. Almost like some sort of medication, calming him and making him unaware of anything else in his surroundings. It’s just him and Switch right now. 

“Suuuureee,” Mika slurs out, eyes focusing on the machine in the center. Nothing else is on his mind other than sticking with the other three, almost like he’s in a trance. “How d’ya play that… ?”

“Oh, have you not played before? It’s fine. The rules are very easy,” Tsumugi begins. “Everyone will get five cards randomly from this deck I’m shuffling. Then, I’ll place one card from the remaining deck down randomly. From there, you have to put down a card that’s either in the same color group or it’s also an odd number or an even number. So, if you put down a yellow 9, then you can put down any other yellow card or you can put down any odd number even if it’s a different color, like, blue.” 

“Ahhhhhh, mhmmm, gotcha gotcha. Makes lotsa sense.” Nodding along to Tsumugi’s explanation of the rules, it doesn’t sound too complicated. Mika’s pretty sure he’s played some sort of variation of this game with Natsume back at Yumenosaki. 

“Right—see, it really isn’t that difficult. I’m sure you’ll be able to grasp it in no time. It’s easiest to go in alphabetical order, so you can start, then Natsume, then Sora, and then finally myself. When you’re the first person to have one card, you win and can put your card into the Game Master machine right here,” Tsumugi continues, placing a hand on top of the machine to illustrate his point. “When you do that, it’ll give you a fortune based on the kind of card you put in.”

“Ohh...? Are there different kinds of cards or somethin’?” Cocking his head to the side, Mika looks around at the different cards laid out on the table. None of the ones on the table look identical. 

“Yes, they’re all different. There’s 22 of them and they’re based on something called ‘tarot cards.’ Natsume-kun took an interest in them not too long ago, they’re supposedly ancient cards that were once used over a thousand years ago. Each card corresponds to a certain name. In order, the cards are the Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, and the World. Your fortune will be related to whichever card you insert. They’ve all got numbers, too, so the Fool is card number one, while the World is card number twenty-two. You’ll get the hang of it as you play the game.”

Ahhh. It’s all really overwhelming and some of the cards sound scary. Well, it’s fine. His friends are here. He wants to play. 

**_Ṯ̵̟̳̣͇͐̋̑͐̈́̈ͅh̷͈̤̘̜̾̓͘̕e̴̤̥̮̎̀ͅ ̶̧̯̬̝̍̈́̂g̶̬̥̉͛̈́̏ä̴̮͈̤̿͑͊͠ͅm̷̘͙̫̊̒̕e̴̲͒͂͆̓͐͘ ̵̘͉̹͕͉̮̈́͝ŵ̸̛͓̠͕̈́̀a̷̫̺̐̎̏͐͠͠n̵̨̜̱̩͌͐ͅt̷̪͖̗͛̓s̵̢̤͚͌̒̂̈́̽ ̵̠̤͙̥͈̇̋̓̏̍h̶͙̤̋̈́͒̇î̴̢̬͎̣̇m̵̨͇̬͠ ̴̧͈̘͇̜͝t̶̟́͝ö̶͇̻̖́͝ ̵̘͙̤̱̔͂̋p̸̢̢̥͖̰͈̄͂̋̽̚l̷̛̦̣͇̮̋̅̍̎͌a̴̻̟̥̓͗͛̃̕͝ỹ̷̞̙͇̼̮.̴̢͍͑͗̚͜_ **

“Alrighty. Can I get m’cards?”

“Sure thing,” Tsumugi replies, sorting out the cards and passing them around the table. “Oh, one thing before I forget. Since there’s four of us, we’ll all get a chance to hear our fortune once we win. But the second person to win only has a 75% chance of getting a completely accurate fortune. The third person will have a 50% chance and the fourth person will only have a 25% chance. The machine’s kind of finicky, so it won’t tell you if your fortune will be 100% accurate or not. And if it’s not 100% accurate, then it will be 0% accurate. There isn’t a middle ground when it comes to this game, unfortunately.”

Huh. Well, that’s a gamble. But… it’s fine. He’ll live without it being completely accurate if that’s what everything comes down to. Besides, not knowing wouldn’t be much different than if he didn’t play the game. 

"Right, so, let's begin." After Tsumugi hands out the cards, Mika looks over at his—a red World card, a blue Judgment card, two green Hermit cards, and a blue Hierophant card. Looking at Tsumugi, Mika watches as he flips a card over randomly from the deck. Mika puts a card down, then Natsume, Sora, and Tsumugi again. The cycle continues until Natsume finally wins first place.

"YaaaaAAY! I won first plaCE!" He lets out, smiling smugly at the others from his seat at the table. 

The shuffling of cards onto the deck continues until the second winner emerges. This time, it’s Sora.

"Woo! Sora's gotten second place... it's not too bad, heehee~"

Now, down to Tsumugi and Mika, the game continues with just the two of them.

Until it ends with Tsumugi winning and just giving Mika a gentle smile instead of words. 

Oh well. At least… he got to play games with friends… Yeah. Was pretty fun. The world around him is still fuzzy, but Natsume’s hand extending towards the machine in the center of the table is clear as ever.

“I want to hear my fortUNE.” Sticking the card in, the machine whirrs to life and begins to speak in what’s an almost-human like voice.

“Natsume Sakasaki. You have inserted: The Fool,” the Game Master machine begins, blue lights on the black box of its outer surface blinking repeatedly. “The Fool represents ‘beginnings.’ Things around you that are happening under your nose are going to pick up and you will be caught in the middle of it. Taking a risk is going to be right at your doorstep soon, but you’re intelligent and there are others around you to support you through it. It’s an exciting opportunity to really feel a sense of adventure.”

“HmmmMMM. Well, mine’s 100% accurate so I know it’s not a lIE. Still, guess this is something I’ll keep in the back of my miND. Your turn, soRA.”

“Ahaha, it’s Sora’s turn, here I go~” Sora sings out, tone clearly excited to be hearing what the machine has to say about his fortune. “I hope it’s not anything that would make Sora feel scared…”

“Don’t worRY. We’re here for yOU.”

Huhhh, that reassurance seems… out of character somewhat. Oh well. There isn’t much time to dwell on it because Sora’s quickly sticking his card into the machine. Head still throbbing, the atmosphere is weird. Nothing really feels real.

“Sora Harukawa. You have inserted: The Sun. Ah, The Sun is the perfect card for you, child of the sky. The Sun represents ‘warmth’ and ‘vitality.’ It’s vibrant, happy, and full of positivity. Just like you. More precisely, just like how you  _ want  _ to be. But there isn’t anything to worry about. You will grow and become happy. Opportunities will arise and you’re quick enough to take advantage of them for your own gain. You’re sly, and it’s what will allow you to find your place in the sky.” 

“Oh… Sora… thinks that this isn’t right…” Pouting, Sora looks away from the deck and away from everyone else. “Senpai, Sora thinks you should go now.”

“Ah, yes. It seems like it’s my turn to get my fortune told if I’m lucky enough. Well, there’s a fifty percent chance so I don’t think it will be too unlikely.”

Inserting the card, Tsumugi awaits his fortune telling. Like clockwork, the machine clicks to life and begins to speak in the almost-real tone once the card is fully inserted.

“Tsumugi Aoba. You have inserted: The Hermit. The Hermit represents ‘introspection.’ Alone, alone, alone. Always alone or left behind, but being on your own is what gives you your inner wisdom. Unswayed by the unwanted and unhelpful opinions of others, you need to step back from the dangerous course you’re headed and instead go back to your usual ways. You will come to realize that the only one you need is yourself; others are expendable and unnecessary for what you need to accomplish.”

“Well… I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Somehow, I find that a little ominous… But, no more focusing on me,” Tsumugi says with a smile, collecting the miscellaneous cards that have been construed about the table. “It’s your turn, Mika-kun.”

“Mika-chan…?”

“Mika-kuN. Snap out of iT.”

Mika having felt like he wasn’t really a member of their conversation, but more of an observer of their interactions, is alerted to it being his turn by a gentle push on his shoulder from Sora. “Mika-chan, go go!”

“Uuh..? Ah, oh, nnnh, right. ‘s m’turn, isn’t it…” Mika whispers to himself. Almost mechanically, he picks up his card and inserts it into the machine. 

“Mika Kagehira. You have inserted: The Devil. Another perfect card for you. The Devil represents ‘bondage’ and ‘addiction.’ The flames on the back of the card are quiet, but they’re burning bright as ever. Just like all the resentment and hatred you store inside of you. But… you’re a good actor. You’re good at putting on a face, playing pretend. Wearing a mask. Not being who you really are. And everyone adores you. They adore the ‘you’ that you show them. The real you isn’t gone, though. It’s just in hiding, and it will come out as soon as you break free and succumb to the temptation that’s waiting for you in the  _ very  _ near future.” 

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

All of a sudden as soon as the machine finishes reading the fortune, it clicks off in an instant, blue buttons fading to nothing. And just as the machine clicks off, Mika clicks back on, coming back to life from the downright bizarre trance he was in. At the same time, the atmosphere around him in the bar changes. No more is the haze that surrounded the table, almost creating an atmosphere of being in some sort of a warp zone. Now, the tables, chairs, bar counter, and the desk Ibara used to give his earlier presentation are as clear and visible as they were when Mika entered the room for the first time. 

The strangest thing of all is that while everything seems to be back to normal, there’s nothing in the room that would have indicated there was a card game going on. There’s not a single card on the table, the Game Master machine is nowhere to be found, and most striking of all is that not a single other person is there in the room. Natsume, Sora, and Tsumugi… they’ve all vanished, leaving Mika sitting alone and wide awake at the table.

Was any of that even  _ real? _

No… better question, is  _ he  _ even real?

(Ȟ̵̛̜͇̰͕̠̂ͅe̸̩͗̇'̵̜͚̜̿͆͐̍s̴̠͙̳̹̾̑̀̉̌ͅͅ ̸̹̯͉̈́̊͒̅n̴̨̙̭̻̥̽o̶̡̨͖̙͍͋ ̷̪̖͎̜̎̏͠͝T̴̨̮͎̥̖̈́̆̽̚)

Whatever just happened was not normal, even by this world’s standards. It wasn’t like a dream, either. He was wide awake, just feeling… lost? Confused? It was like Mika entered a different reality, a different dimension.

But, nevermind that. Now that he’s out of whatever time warp he was just in, his responsibilities hit him right in the face at mach speed. In  _ this  _ reality, Shu’s waiting for him and he needs to go. Now. He just spent at least twenty minutes playing weird space-time-continium-malfunctions Uno (and lost, mind you). Time that could have been spent figuring out where the  _ hell  _ their “spot” is and getting there. For all he knows, it could be on the other side of the city, or hours away. Or maybe… it could be back at the casino. Yeah. That  _ could  _ be it, since he  _ did  _ see Shu there before metaphorically flooring it on his bike and taking off in the opposite direction.

… On their anniversary, he reminds himself as he slaps an exasperated hand across his face.

Oh god. He’s in  _ big  _ trouble. Mika’s got to go and just run to his bike. Take off, go  _ somewhere.  _ Get away from whatever weird dimension he just passed through and get close to Shu. Leave LUNAR behind… for now, at least. It’s not like it’s really possible to  _ completely  _ abandon it. His friends and here, everyone here seems to have a pretty strong grip of what’s going on, which means they probably know how to send Mika back to Yumenosaki, too. 

Still, it’s best to only focus on one thing at a time. Finding Shu is a big enough problem since there doesn’t seem to be enough information available to go and track his whereabouts down. Sigh.

Getting up in a rush and sending the chair he was once sitting on several feet behind him with the force he exerts, Mika collects himself and begins to head towards the exit. A brisk walk towards where the hallway that leads to the front reception area and then the parking lot begins. Approaching the bike not in a huge rush, but at a good enough speed where it’s not like he’s loafing around. Yeah. 

_ … Probably should be going faster,  _ he thinks to himself, but throws the thought away. Would running faster really solve anything? Either way, getting to the bike doesn’t mean that he’s going to instantly know where to find Shu. Prolonging the walk will give him some more time to think… in theory, right? Really, walking towards the bike instead of running is just like procrastination. 

“Uuurgghh, it always comes back t’school somehow, doesn’t it…” Talking to himself, Mika holds his head in his hands and groans loudly. With his head in his hands though and his eyes closed, it isn’t long until he walks directly into a table in all of his clumsy and ungainly glory, letting out an even louder groan as the furniture topples and collides with a nearby chair. It doesn’t help that one eye is obscured with an eyepatch, further obstructing his vision. 

Looking around at the damage, nothing’s  _ broken  _ but the bar area in his proximity is definitely not in its most optimal shape. Yikes. Not his best moment. 

And without a beat, he’s reminded of his current predicament. The Shinobu one. 

“Kagehira-dono? Come back!” Running down the stairs after Mika is Shinobu, still set on trying to get him to go and see Tsumugi, apparently. Geez, he just  _ saw  _ Tsumugi… kind of. Not really. Maybe? It’s unclear. 

But what is clear is the lightbulb that goes off in Mika’s head as soon as Shinobu’s shoes click after making contact with the floor of the bar.

Oh, shit.

Goodbye walking, hello running as fast as his legs can take him down the hall and away from Shinobu. Hopefully, running  _ faster  _ than Shinobu. 

“Gotta go!” 

Hastily getting up and stepping over the mess he’s created in the bar, Mika’s taking off towards the hallway—this time, miraculously, without colliding with any other pieces of furniture that have conveniently been placed in his way. Really, the layout of this bar is simply  _ not  _ conducive to him making quick escapes from the building to the parking lot where his bike is. 

Turning the corner and flying down the hallway, jacket fluttering behind him, Shinobu’s left behind in the bar. The count of people he’s left behind in the dust with no explanation rises to two this evening.

Still, without giving a whole lot of thought to the implications of his actions, Mika’s running through the automatic double doors of the LUNAR building. Fortunately, the tech is advanced enough and opens just in time for Mika to burst through the exit. Running into a set of glass doors is neither something he’d like to be doing right now, nor is something that would help convince Shinobu that he’s medically sound. 

Finally in the clear, Mika’s motorcycle flashes to life as if it can sense that he needs to go somewhere and go fast. Darting towards the bright green, the only color awake among all the bikes in the parking lot, he hops on without question and the engine begins to sputter. 

And before Mika can even think about where to go, there’s a buzzing feeling coming from his pocket. Sticking a hand in without question, it’s just his smartphone.

Taking it out, the screen illuminates itself—though still locked—and a voice speaks to him. 

“Device named  _ Mika’s Phone _ is currently within range of device named  _ Mika’s Bike. _ According to your calendar, you have one upcoming meeting in eighteen minutes. The coordinates are set in  _ Mika’s Phone. _ Would you like to transfer the coordinates to the Global Positioning System installed in  _ Mika’s Bike _ for navigational purposes?”

Huh… what? First… eighteen minutes? If the voice from the phone is referring to his “meeting” with Shu, there’s no way there’s still eighteen minutes left to get to it. That would mean that the game that he played with Switch either didn’t really happen or it really was in a different reality that he somehow entered when he went downstairs to the bar.

Ugh. Too much thinking, it’s going to become a headache. There’s another question, too. Global Positioning System? Is that like a GPS? Like, Google Maps? Does the phone know how to get to Shu? 

“Err… uhh, sure?”

“Coordinates set. Guided navigation will begin once seated.”

Huh. Okay. Sure thing…?

“Well, I didn’t really expect that t’work, but, alrighty…!” Taking a seat, the machine beneath him hums with energy as Mika’s grip on the handlebars tightens. Rolling the throttle forward with a light amount of pressure, the bike is in motion and Mika steers it out of the parking lot. This time, without wobbling all over the place or nearly crashing into anything. The bike seems to be pretty user-friendly, so it’s not too difficult to get the hang of it even though it’s a brand new experience. “Here goes.”

Following the bike-smartphone-conjoined navigation, Mika is led from the parking lot of LUNAR on the quieter, almost outskirts area of the city to the deeper, inner part of the city. Navigating through side streets until he’s coursing back down the freeway and bridge that led him to LUNAR from their previous getaway point at the casino. He’s definitely hoping that their “spot” isn’t the casino… not only would that just be awkward (though it’s bound to be an awkward meeting regardless of where it takes place), but it might be dangerous if those things that were hunting him and Natsume down are still there. 

Though there isn’t a whole lot of time to really think about the potentialities. The navigation system is quick to keep Mika’s senses sharp.

“Enter the seventh lane.”

… Okay. That’s the lane closest to the other side of traffic, so it’s a bit of a jump from where he is now on the oncoming lane. Praying that no one hits him as he does it, Mika’s hands tremble as he quickly skeets off through six lanes of traffic. Some people honked at him and there were a couple of close calls, but he’s in the seventh lane on the freeway without issue. 

Until the damn navigation system decides to have a midlife crisis after thirty-five seconds of being in that lane.

“Take the next exit.”

“H-hey!? I just got over ‘ere, what the heck’re ya expectin’ me t’do?!”

“Take the next exit.” 

Finicky as ever.

“... Geez. Fine. Guess I got no choice, huh?”

Following the system’s instructions to the best of his ability, Mika swerves his bike across six lanes of traffic—again—and exits the bridge. This time, it doesn’t seem like he’s going as deep into the city as the casino was. It’s more like he’s on the border of the downtown area, near the ocean. Across the bridge is a smaller clump of buildings, which must be the subset of the big city—the borough LUNAR is located in.

Continuing along with the navigation, the bike goes and goes until the automated voice is telling it to stop. Parking the bike and hopping off— _ hopefully, _ eighteen minutes have yet to pass—Mika looks at the world around him. It’s a park—it’s not incredibly green and lush, but there’s more greenery here than there is in the rest of the city that he’s seen so far. To one side are some metal climbing structures for children, though the only people on it right now are some preteens messing around after dark. To the other side, there’s a walking path along the grass, sparsely lined with baby trees. Romantic. 

And finally, facing above, across the grass atop a set of concrete stairs looking over the ocean and the city of LUNAR’s headquarters is the man of the hour with light from glowing futuristic street lamps cascading over his tall figure. 

Shu Itsuki. 

There he is. After what has felt like eons, he’s… he’s really there. He’s really real. And Mika’s here, too. No more than thirty feet away from him on the other side of the park, at the bottom of the stars.

With tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, Mika doesn’t hesitate to leave the bike behind as he bolts towards him. Getting closer and closer, nearly tripping on the grass, but persevering and heading over. At the bottom of the stairs, Shu’s expression is as clear as ever. Smiling, with nothing but fondness. A tear sliding down his cheek; his eyes full of nothing but love. 

“Mika.”

“S-Shu…?”

He’s… Mika has  _ never  _ called Shu by his first name. And  _ never  _ has Shu  _ ever  _ called Mika by his first name. At least, not in his presence. What Shu does when he’s not with Mika isn’t really any of his business, though the shockwaves that course through his body at hearing Shu use such a familiar term are unexpected. It’s a relief to finally find Shu, but the more that Mika sees and hears from him it’s only a painful reminder that something’s off.

This is Shu, sure, but it isn’t  _ his  _ Shu.

Unless his Shu went through a dramatic personality change in the handful of hours they’ve been apart. Which is plausible but not highly likely. Plus, with the rest of the world he’s in being markedly different from the world of Yumenosaki it makes sense that this must be an entirely different Shu.

A Shu that calls him by his first name, that lets Mika steal his car, apparently, that cries when he lays his violet eyes on him from the top of the stairs, that’s currently running down the stairs to Mika…

“S-Shu…!” 

Calling out to Shu with open arms, this time with more confidence in his tone, is Mika who wants nothing more than to just hold Shu in his arms and never let go. Being without Shu for so long and being in such an unfamiliar world was mentally draining, even  _ if  _ he had close friends like Natsume and Shinobu with him.

And luckily—or unluckily, depending on the perspective—Mika’s getting more than he bargained for as Shu lands at the bottom of the steps right in front of Mika. Without a single trace of hesitation, Shu’s wrapping his arms around Mika and pulling him close, the distance between them nearly nonexistent. Letting out an awkward squeak at the sudden contact, Mika quickly reacts to Shu’s body language and is likewise slipping his arms around his figure. Ready to just be like this forever, looking up at Shu’s teary eyes with tears of his own sliding down his cheeks. 

Right, this is great,  _ fine, _ even. Being with Shu like this, getting to see him up close, when they’re both at their most vulnerable. He could really use a hug right now, it’s what he’s been waiting for— 

Except those thoughts come to an abrupt halt due to no fault of his own. Suddenly, so suddenly, Shu is pressing his lips against Mika’s as he’s enveloping in a kiss. Shu’s breath warm against him in contrast to the chill in the air, his lips softer than the skin of his hands, the touch of which Mika’s come to know so well through practice and other bonding experiences. 

With wide eyes, Mika kisses Shu back with everything he has, like this is the only opportunity he’ll ever have to do such a thing. Without so much as another word, his eyes flutter shut and he’s responding to Shu’s touch, giving him back as much passion as he’s putting out. Shu’s hands make their way up to Mika’s face, cupping his cheeks as he presses his lips deeper against Mika, savoring the feeling. As if it’s instinct, Mika’s moving his hands up from where they’re wrapped around the small of Shu’s back all the way to sit behind his neck, fingers tangling themselves in the ends of Shu’s pink hair. 

Sighing with contentment as he’s lost in the moment, just savoring the feeling of having his lips pressed against Shu’s, both of them with tears rolling down their cheeks. Finally happy to be with the other after what felt like centuries but couldn’t have been more than a handful of hours. And even though it’s Mika’s first kiss, it doesn’t matter. Sure, he’s not  _ great  _ at it but his level of skill isn’t something that’s on his mind. All that matters at this moment is him being with Shu. Together, as it always should be. 

“I missed you. I missed you so much,” Shu says, finally breaking the silence between them. His tone is warm yet steady as he lifts a hand up to wipe at his tears before leaning over to do the same to Mika. Warm thumb brushing against the chill of Mika’s cheek, made only colder by the slight chill in the air around them. “I can’t believe I went so long without seeing you, Mika. You’re the world to me and I’m so happy that we’re together, right here and right now.” 

“I missed ya too. S-Shu,” Mika begins, voice quivering and hesitant as Shu’s given name drips out from his lips. The boy wrapping his arms around Mika doesn’t seem to sense that something is off with Mika, instead only pulling him closer as he presses a gentle kiss to his forehead as Mika pauses to collect his thoughts. “I thought that I really screwed up. That I wasn’t gonna see ya again fer awhile. An’ I was feelin’ really really bad cuz yer the most important person t’me, and ya really mean a lot t’me, and, and, I—”

Cutting Mika off from his mindless rambling, Shu whispers quiet, gentle shushes as he looks down at him with a fondness Mika isn’t accustomed to receiving. Not from Shu, not from Natsume, not from anyone else. Being spoken to, cared for, and attended to with such love and attention is a brand new experience for him but it’s not something he’ll shove away quickly. Really, the feeling is growing on him at an alarming rate.

“Shh. It’s okay. I understand. I know how hectic your life has been recently. I can’t fault you for having personal matters that you need to take care of. It’s only natural, after all. We all have our own roles and tasks that we need to accomplish. So, in short, you’re okay. I’m here for you, okay? Mika.” 

Gulping, a mismatched pair of eyes looks up into the violet above. These are words Mika has always, always wanted to hear. Whether they come from Shu, or Natsume, or some other person he holds close to him—it doesn’t matter. His life has been wracked with uncertainty and confusion for the longest time, and randomly being transported to this world hasn’t helped that in the slightest. So to hear such reassurance, such  _ love… _

It means the world. 

“Ahh… hhhn, thank—thank ya muchly, Shu… Yer really important t’me, too,” Mika responds quietly, suddenly shy. Leaning down, he presses his head against Shu’s chest. Without another word, Shu’s quick to respond by holding Mika tightly against him and petting his head, whispering sweet nothings above his ear. Making him safe and comfortable, all in his arms. There’s nowhere Mika would rather be. Being together with Shu like this…  _ kissing  _ him like he did earlier… they’re both things that Mika’s not proud to admit that he’s thought of—no,  _ dreamed of _ —for the longest time. Things that were on his mind when he was supposed to be doing arguably more important tasks, such as studying or practicing singing. 

Eventually pulling back just to get another glimpse of the fond smile Shu’s surely wearing—and once he’s able to look up at Shu again, there isn’t a trace of disappointment on Mika’s features—Mika lets himself continue to be held by Shu. Expectantly waiting for some guidance in the conversation, perhaps some talk about going home. 

“So… excuse me for changing the topic, but you know why I wanted to meet you here tonight, correct?”

“Errr…” That’s… not an easy question. There are a hundred and one things running through Mika’s head and “finding Shu” was at the forefront. He’s a little ashamed to admit that he didn’t give much thought to  _ why  _ Shu would want to meet him. The initial assumption that Shu was mad at him doesn’t really seem to hold up with how they just  _ kissed  _ less than five minutes ago—a first for Mika. So, from what Mika can pull from being with Shu as of right now, he doesn’t  _ seem  _ mad on the outside… so it’s probably not about the casino or whatever happened in between his escapade. Really, there’s any number of possible reasons why Shu decided to call him out here, and he’s not confident in any of them. “Uhhh… errrmmm… I don’t? Why  _ did  _ ya call me over ‘ere tonight?”

Expecting a sigh, there’s a pleasant surprise to be seen as Shu just flashes Mika a golden smile accompanied by a gentle look in his eyes. “Of course. I know that you’ve been so busy recently, it’s no wonder that you wouldn’t have noticed. Plus… I love you and all, but you can be a little scatterbrained at times.”

Without too much stalling, Shu’s expression darkens and turns more serious. Clearing his throat, Shu begins to explain himself. 

“Well, the first reason why I called you here is related to our anniversary. I didn’t forget—how could I? We ran into each other earlier downtown and I knew we couldn’t meet then… you know, with everything that was going on back there…  _ whatever  _ it was. But I wanted to tell you in person. Happy anniversary, Mika.” 

Oh. Okay, well. He's not mad. This is good. This is really good news. 

“H-happy anniversary, S-Shu…” 

The words “happy anniversary Shu” feel weird as they roll off Mika’s tongue. Almost like it’s too good to be true, that he shouldn’t  _ really  _ be saying it. But… Shu initiated it. The details can be worked out later. Plus, Shu looks happy beyond words. Crushing his happy and loving expression would be plain cruel.

… Though it’s cruel of another nature to be saying “happy anniversary” if he’s not sure that he means it. 

There isn’t much time for guilt though as Shu continues to lead the conversation. 

“I got you something. Here.” Letting go of Mika to reach into his pocket, Shu produces a small box. Velvet exterior, a rich shade of cerulean. A shade that matches the one eye Mika doesn’t have covered up. 

“Oh my god…” Quickly placing his hands over his mouth as his eyes widen, a high-pitched gasp escapes Mika’s lips.

This… this couldn’t be. Could it? There’s… there’s no way, right? 

Using two hands to open up the box, a small amulet resting in the center of a gold chain sits on a cushion inside. It’s a sphere blue spherical gem. Decorating the surface of it are a handful of small five-pointed stars, the gems glimmering a vibrant shade of yellow against the light of the streetlamps overhead. Hugging the external surface of the pendant around its middle is a ring of yellow, made from the same golden material as the stars on the face of the amulet. Blue and gold, the same shade as Mika’s eyes. A perfect—an  _ identical  _ match. 

“Shu, I… ‘s… ‘s so beautiful, ‘m…” Unable to get a grip over his emotions, tears begin to overflow, cascading down Mika’s cheeks for the second time since seeing Shu. “S-Shu—” 

“Shhh. You don’t need to say anything now. Let me handle everything,” Shu soothes in a calming voice, smiling gently at Mika and giving him all the attention in the world. Making him feel nothing but special on their anniversary. 

“I know you aren’t very fond of material things so I kept it simple. But the gemstones on it? They’re real. Amber and lapis lazuli.”

“Oh my god, Shu, ya…” What Shu’s beginning to tangle his fingers in is something Mika never would have dreamed of. It’s true that Mika doesn’t  _ really  _ care about fancy, expensive items, but that doesn’t change the fact that the necklace in front of him is beautiful beyond words. 

“I want nothing but the best for you. You deserve nothing less. Mika, I  _ wanted  _ to do this for you. So there’s no need to feel guilty or anything of the sort. This is coming from the heart. I want to show you in all the ways I can how much I love you and how much you mean to me.”

There it is again. The “love” word. The first time Shu said it, it was easy to brush off as just something to be said in the heat of the moment. But this time, he tone is stronger, more confident,  _ firmer. _ As if he means it. As if he really loves Mika.

And Mika… hearing the words straight from Shu is enough to send his heart racing and a warm blush to his cheeks. A blush that’s been there since he laid eyes on Shu, but only became something he’s painfully aware of as he’s looking right into Shu’s violet eyes with his tear-clotted vision. 

He’s loved.

And he loves Shu. But it’s unbearable. It’s too much to be able to say right now. Even if he puts in everything he can, the words won’t come out. The fear that comes with saying “I love you, too” for the first time is crippling, preventing him from telling the truth even though it’s what he wants more than anything right now. 

Breaking the silence, Shu slips the necklace out of its resting place in the box, returning the box back where it came from into the depths of his pocket. Unclasping it, Shu reaches over behind Mika’s neck and clicks the pendant into place, letting it rest in between his collarbones. Mika reaches a tentative hand up, mouth slightly agape as he feels the material for himself. The minerals are cool in his hands and each part of the necklace is smooth.

“Look, Mika, I… I know that we’re both young. We’re  _ almost  _ adults. And we have so much ahead of us and there’s still so much life left to live. And we’ve only been dating for one year, but this past year has been the best of my entire life. Meeting you, being with you, falling in love with you, all of it… it’s something I treasure so much. Truly, I do.”

With a nervous breath, Shu tangles a hand into his hair, messing up the tufts as he pauses before continuing on with his monologue. 

“But… I want more. I don’t want to just be your boyfriend, I… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Mika.”

Holy  _ shit. _ There’s no way. This… this world isn’t a dream… but… is this really happening? Is the Shu in front of him truly real? He… his hand didn’t pass through him earlier, so he’s not a hologram but… is this an actual conversation they’re having, or some sort of fantasy?

It’s too hard to tell. All that he can really do is listen to the words of Shu before him.

“And before you ask… I’m not asking you to marry me.  _ Not yet, _ at least. I think we both know that we’re too young for that, but… I want it. I want to marry you in the future.”

Oh my god. Suddenly feeling weak, Mika reaches out for Shu, who’s fortunately quick enough to take his hands and hold him like it’s the only thing he can do. Keeping him up, giving his hands a squeeze as if to tell him that he really  _ is  _ here. 

“So, what I’m trying to say is that… what I’m giving you, it’s a promise necklace. A promise that I’ll always be together alongside you, no matter what. It’s always going to be me and you. I’ll always be by your side. Wherever you go, I’m always with you.” 

And this it. This is the breaking point where Mika’s gentle tears become full-on sobs. Loud, ugly, disgusting, gross sobs in the middle of the park. Leaning forward and pressing his face into Shu’s chest, soaking the smooth fibers of his shirt with his wet tears. Wailing like a child as Shu holds him tight and rubs calming circles into the small of Mika’s back to the best of his ability. 

“M-Mika…?” 

“S...Shu,” Mika chokes out, sniffling between syllables. “I… yer… ya really, yer so much t’me an’ I dunno how someone like me went an’ deserved someone like ya… Yer so special t’me, an’ yer m’world, too, an’ I never ever wanna be away from yer side cuz yer m’everythin’, an’ I… I…”

“Mika, shh….” Shu coos, placing gentle kisses to the top of Mika’s head as he tries to calm him down. “Shh. You’re alright. I’m here with you. You’re safe with me. You don’t need to force yourself to say anything, just knowing that you’re here in my arms and we’re together now is enough. Please.”

Shu’s words calm him down but… they also sting in some way. Like, he  _ wants  _ to tell Shu how he feels so bad, but… he can’t. Not now, everything is too overwhelming and he’s a mess who can’t form a complete sentence right now. 

“But, really. You don’t have to respond to anything about that right now. I’ve spoken enough on this topic. But I do want to reiterate that I love you with all my heart and I’ll never stop for as long as I live.”

“S-Shu…” Looking up with red, puffy eyes, Mika’s glad that he’s with Shu and in his arms and that he’s feeling more love now than he ever has before. Everything that just happened was so much for him to take in but… Shu’s words were sincere. That much is evident. Shu’s understanding and kind, he’ll let Mika take this at his own pace. Shu  _ loves  _ him, so there isn’t a reason to rush. Just like he said, he’ll be there. Always.

“Mika,” Shu finally responds, pressing another quiet kiss to Mika’s forehead as he continues to hold him in his arms. Pulling back, he looks down at Mika and takes in a breath. 

“There’s another reason why I wanted to speak with you tonight, too.”

“...O-oh?”

Well, it can’t be that bad after Shu basically just professed how much he wants to marry Mika.

“What’s on yer mind?”

“I want to join LUNAR.”

What. 

Okay, maybe it can be a little bad. 

Mika’s goal is getting home. Leaving this world and this current situation means not meddling with any more affairs—after all, his business with LUNAR back at the casino could’ve gotten him or Natsume  _ killed. _

Letting Shu join what seems to be some club that hasn’t proved itself as being anything more than some top-secret crime gang isn’t conducive to going home. Plus, it’s just a bad idea. Becoming more tangled in the affairs of this world is the opposite of what Mika should be doing right now, and getting Shu dragged into it… even if it isn’t  _ his  _ Shu… it’s  _ stupid. _ Reckless. Not worth it.

“Ya… HUH?” With an incredulous look spread across his face, Mika takes a step back from Shu, free from his grasp. As he moves, the necklace around his neck bounces and clinks against the gemstone-like texture in the upper center of his shirt. “Whaddya mean, ya wanna join LUNAR?!”

“I had a feeling that you were going to react like this,” Shu answers with a sigh, bringing up a head to his forehead and shaking his head from side to side. “I want to join LUNAR. I’m sure of it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and after seeing what went down at the casino—or at least, the brief sight I caught of it while I just so happened to be downtown—my resolve is only stronger. Mika, I want to be with you. I think I’ve made that clear enough. I would gladly give up everything I have just if it means I can be beside as well as help your cause. If it’s important to you, then it’s important to be as well. I’m not here to debate you. I want to join.”

“Are… are ya bein’ serious right now?” Mika asks, tone not trying to start a fight but definitely not going to just stand here and take it. Seriously, what on earth is he thinking? “Do ya even know what yer gonna be gettin’ mixed in with?”

“You speak as if I’m just saying this out of the blue, like I haven’t done my research.” Like Mika, there isn’t any bite in Shu’s tone but he does stand his ground.

“... But it  _ does  _ sound like this ‘s comin’ outta the blue. Where did ya even get this idea from?”

“Well, if you want the exact truth, I got it from you. You inspired me to want to join LUNAR.”

… He did  _ what  _ now? No no no _ no. _ Recruiting Shu into this has never been his intention, knowingly or unknowingly. Time to nip this in the bud before it gets out of control. 

_ ”How?! _ What did I do that made ya jump t’ that conclusion?” 

“Seeing you put yourself in all sorts of dangerous and reckless situations scares me, especially because I don’t know all that much about LUNAR other than it exists and you work there. But also because I can’t be by your side while you’re at work. I want to protect you, more than anything. You ‘saved’ me. And I want to be able to do the same for you.”

“Wh—ya don’t have t’be a part of LUNAR t’be by m’side, yanno…” 

“... I’m aware of that. The factor the matter is that I  _ want  _ to be a part of it.” 

“... But… why? Really, yer gonna be gettin’ involved in things that ya shouldn’t be gettin’ involved in…” 

“I know it’s going to be dangerous. I know it’s going to be difficult as well. And I’m not just doing this for your sake although that’s a big part of the reason why. The life I live now and the background I come from… you know more than anyone else that they expect me to behave a certain way and do certain things, but… it’s not the life I want to lead. It’s not the life I had a choice in leading up until now. I want to pave my own path for myself, even if it is dangerous. And joining LUNAR is the best way for me to accomplish that, even though it’s likely that I’ll get mixed up in all sorts of trouble.” 

… Oh…? So… Shu  _ doesn’t  _ want to live the life he’s living right now?

… But  _ why? _ There has to be a reason for it, right? 

“Why don’t ya want t’have the life ya got right now…?” 

“... Mika. Isn’t it obvious? I’m always being pushed and forced to be one way with no say of my own. I’m the son of elites, I’m expected to only mingle with a certain crowd. And my god, I’m expected to marry someone of equal social status at the very least. But that’s not what I want. I don’t want to be some puppet controlled by my parents or by social expectations. I want to be with you. I want to live the life you lead. Sure, I know that there’s problems of your own that you have, but… you may not know it, but you have so much more freedom than you’ll ever realize.”

… Uhhh… no? As much as Shu’s important to him, he can’t agree with him on everything. This is one of those times. There isn’t a whole lot of freedom to be had living as a generally less well-off person. Really, the routine is work… sleep… work… not sleep… work… work… work…

There isn’t time to think about things like a future, or the crowd that’s mingled with. Things like that are luxuries that only someone like Shu or someone of a relatively similar social class can afford to have. So the fact that Shu’s even thinking for a moment that his life is something that should be given up because it’s restricting, it’s…

It’s clear that he has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.

Because really, life down where Mika’s been at, struggling and struggling and  _ struggling— _ and based on what he can infer from the area near where LUNAR is located, it’s not pretty. It’s not ideal. It’s not a world of freedom from society where expectations are nonexistent. It’s a world where conforming to

And really. It’s all pointless. None of it  _ really  _ matters. Wealth, poverty… they’re all just means to an end. An end that’s going to be the same no matter which route is taken. 

But… Mika needs to stop spiraling. This isn’t helpful for the current situation. As much as what Shu’s just said is  _ annoying, _ dwelling on it won’t solve any problems or get him anywhere. If anything, it’ll just cause more problems which is the opposite of what he needs right now. It’s probably best to just steer the topic away from Shu’s personal life. 

“Ah… right… So… ya really think that joinin’ LUNAR’s the best way t’go ‘bout solvin’ this…?”

“Yes. Yes, I’ve thought about it quite a lot. I’m confident in my decision. If you won’t let me join, then by god I’ll march over there myself and ask to join. I’m not going to budge.”

Ah, shit. It doesn’t seem like any amount of persuasion is going to deter Shu at this point. 

So, there doesn’t seem to be like another option than to just take Shu over there. Like he said himself, if Mika doesn’t take him there then he’ll just figure out a way to join on his own. He is well-connected, so it can’t be  _ too  _ difficult. Sighing, Mika looks up at Shu, sending him a final pleading look though he doesn’t expect it to do much of anything.

“... Fine. Guess there’s nothin’ I can say t’stop ya. So, let’s go an’ head on over. I guess…?”

“Right. Let’s do that.”

“Alrighty… errr… How did ya get ‘ere?” Looking around, there isn’t another bike or anything parked nearby that looks like it could be Shu’s. 

“I just walked over here from downtown. It’s not that far of a walk so it took me less than half an hour. That being said, I don’t have my own transportation…  _ anymore,” _ Shu coughs out, looking away from Mika. 

… This is probably about the car he allegedly stole. Shelving this conversation for a later time. 

“Ah, ehehehrrm, right. So, yer gonna need a ride t’ LUNAR ‘m guessin’?”

“Exactly.”

“Well… I got m’ one bike for the two of us so I guess yer gonna have t’sit behind me… ‘kay?”

“Sounds good to me. I like it when you take me places on your bike. Say, does joining LUNAR mean I get my own bike, too?”

Uhh… Right, so. Mika definitely doesn’t have enough knowledge to answer that right now. 

So, there’s no point in lying to Shu. Shu knows him better than anyone just about, so he’ll be able to tell in a heartbeat if Mika isn’t telling the truth. 

“Errr… I dunno… yer gonna have t’ask someone that’s not me ‘bout that… ‘m sorry.”

“Oh… I see. Well, it’s alright. I’m sure I’ll be getting all sorts of answers soon. It’s fine, you don’t have to worry about it,” Shu answers, not really deterred by Mika’s apparent lack of knowledge about new LUNAR recruits. Nevertheless, his tone is confident. Remarkably so; Shu acts as if he’ll just be able to walk in, sign up, and become a full-fledged member all in a day’s work. And with the knowledge that Ibara and Hiyori seem to be in charge of the organization… it’s definitely going to be an interesting exchange for sure. Still, Shu doesn’t seem to show a single trace of worry across his features. Reaching down, he takes Mika’s hand in his and links their fingers together, earning a surprised squeal from Mika and a bright red face in response. “Well then, let’s go?” 

Wow, they’re… they’re really holding hands as if it’s nothing. Shu taking Mika's hand in his out of the blue, as if it’s something that’s been done a thousand times over. And while Shu doesn’t seem to pay any mind to this act—really, not even batting an eye at Mika’s clearly flustered response—Mika’s heart is racing, leaping, and soaring, practically on the verge of leaping right out of his chest with the flutter of emotions that such a simple act is making him feel. 

“Mhmm… yeah, heheh,” Mika responds quietly, not daring to look up at Shu who’s certainly boring holes into Mika right now. Just seeing his calm and collected expression right now, see how cool he is and be reminded that they’re really  _ connected  _ right now… it’s surely enough to drive Mika over the edge. So, avoiding it is the best option. Until something important suddenly comes to mind. How could he even have let it slip his mind? 

“Errr…! Wait a minute, before we go, I forgot t’ ask ya somethin’. What are ya gonna do if this doesn’t work out?”

The question doesn’t phase Shu at all. His answer comes quickly without a trace of hesitation, almost as if he’s been rehearsing lines for a play to make the delivery perfect.

“It will work out. I’m certain that in one way or another, I’ll be able to join. I have my reasons for thinking so, and if you can’t guess what they are already then you’ll surely find out soon enough. And even on the off chance that I can’t join—which I highly,  _ highly  _ doubt—then I have a backup plan. If I can’t join at this present moment, there’s nothing saying that I can’t join in the future. So I’ll have to bide my time and keep myself occupied until then. But really, Mika, I’m confident that things will work out fine. You mustn’t be so worried,” Shu explains matter-of-factly. “Besides… as I mentioned earlier, I have you with me. That’s all I need. Even if everything else in the world is a mess, you’ll be by my side. Right?”

Ahh… so… Shu’s backup plan is… a secret? Or at least something Mika should already know. Well, his answer isn’t incredibly helpful or informative but at least it’s an answer. Typical of Shu, too, of course. To have such a detailed plan to install, and to keep the details of its execution to himself. Hearing his explanation brings back memories of his Shu, the one back at Yumenosaki. In a sense, this Shu is somewhat reminiscent of that Shu from so many months ago, but in other ways, he’s developed massively. Especially with the amount of confidence that he exudes. The Yumenosaki Shu is likewise confident but this Shu seems to be on a whole other level.

“Mhm, right. ‘m gonna be with ya.” 

It’s not a lie. He’s going to be with Shu for as long as he can. 

But… he needs to go back to Yumenosaki. To his Shu.

He can’t stay here forever.

… He hopes.

Smiling warmly down at Mika is Shu, who doesn’t seem to be bothered by Mika’s internal confusion at all. Taking the first steps forward, he leads Mika by the hand across the park and towards the side of the road where Mika left his bike parked. 

Sticking his free hand into his jacket pocket, Mika’s brow furrows in confusion as something plastic-like comes in contact with his fingers. 

Oh. The pictures that he put in his pocket before running out of his room. It was just a hunch, that maybe they’d be a clue as to where Shu would be. Turns out that he didn’t need them to solve that mystery, but they’re here now. Pulling one of them out at random, Mika looks down at it, letting the moonlight and the lights above illuminate its surface. 

It’s a picture of the place they’re at right now. It’s the picture where they’re kissing each other and they’re lost in the wonders of each other. It’s so romantic and lovely to the point where it’s almost sickening. But their budding romance at the forefront of the image aside, the location of this picture… coupled with the fact that Shu said this place is “their spot,” are the other images also of important places? Or are they just solely sentimental? It’s unclear right now, but maybe if there’s some downtime, Mika will have the opportunity to research them some more. 

“Hm? Is everything—oh,” Looking over at Mika who’s slowed down, Shu smiles as soon as his eyes lay on the photograph in Mika’s hands. “That one is my favorite picture of us.” 

“Ehh—eh?!” In a fit of surprise after being watched by none other than  _ Shu _ as he was ogling the picture in front of him with embarrassment, Mika’s hand spasms and he nearly drops the photo on the concrete below him. Fortunately, he’s fast enough to catch it and stuff it back in his pocket without damaging it. “Eheheh, ermm… mhm! Yup, I like it… yeah, ‘s my favorite… too…!” 

How embarrassing. It’s one thing for them to have shared such a tender kiss earlier when Mika wasn’t expecting it at all, but it’s another thing to have a visual reminder of how it felt and how much Shu’s in love with him, even if he doesn’t remember ever posing for such a picture.

And it’s not like seeing the picture makes Mika feel bad or anything. It’s the opposite, really. He’s filled with just as much love for Shu, except he isn’t at the point where he’s ready to admit it to anyone. Being in a world where they’re already an  _ item _ is an experience that comes with its own challenges and fears. 

“You’re so cute.”

“Ehh—! Am not cute… uwaahh!”

“This is exactly what I mean. You’re adorable, especially when you’re flustered.”

“Shuu—!” 

“Heh.” Stopping now that they’re in front of the bike, Shu leans down and presses yet another kiss to the top of Mika’s head. “Adorable.”

“Uwwah!” Releasing Shu’s hand from his, Mika hops onto the bike and places his hands firmly on the handlebars. He playfully sticks his tongue out, too, though Shu can’t see it from his position behind him. “ ‘m gonna leave ya right ‘ere if ya keep it up.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Shu responds, rolling his eyes with a smile. He slides onto the back of the bike right behind Mika and puts his arms around his waist, holding on tightly so he doesn’t fall off. Holding onto Mika firm enough as if it’s not his first time doing this. And without saying a word, he leans down and presses a wet kiss to the back of his neck. Has he always been so touchy-feely? It’s a series of brand new sensations for Mika, but they’re definitely things he’ll be able to get used to in no time. The attention’s nice, especially with it coming from Shu. 

“Err… let’s go!” Revving up the engine, Mika wiggles in place to get a feel for the bike again. Not a word comes from the smartphone or the navigation system, so it seems like it’s up to his memory to figure out how to get back to LUNAR. He hasn’t tried unlocking his phone since the first time it decided to send him spiraling into a miniature life crisis, but there hasn’t been much of an indication that it’s able to be unlocked now. It’s not like he ever stopped being human, so if it didn’t work earlier it probably won’t work now. 

But, freaky futuristic technology aside. Back to the topic at hand.

Oh boy. Focusing on the road with Shu’s firm hands wrapped tightly around his abdomen, his breath warm on his neck, it’s definitely going to be challenging. As if navigating through nearly a dozen different lanes of traffic at night is simple enough. 

Well, here goes nothing. 

Rolling the throttle forward, the bike comes to life and takes off seamlessly down the road, leaving the park in the dust behind the pair. 

* * *

“Ah… Kagehira-dono ran off. I hope he doesn’t hurt himself, he doesn’t seem to be okay…” 

All alone in the bar area, Shinobu looks around. Tsumugi, Sora, and Natsume are  _ supposed  _ to be here—they had a game night planned and everything. But they don’t seem to be anywhere here. Maybe they ditched him…? No, it can’t be. They’re not like that. Something might have come up in regards to the mission, or maybe it’s just really late and  _ he’s  _ the one who lost track of time. After all, there doesn’t seem to be a single person in the bar. It’s silent.

Hmm… well, with that in mind, perhaps it’s time to...

Perhaps it’s time to head into the basement. It’s been awhile since he’s been down there. Straying from his comfort zone isn’t a bad idea, either.

Crossing the center of the bar down to the entrance way with the stairs to the basement, Shinobu’s light on his feet as he makes his descent even deeper into LUNAR. After tiptoeing down two flights of stairs, his feet are finally planted on the cool tile of the basement floor. The basement is mostly dark with only the neon patterns in the wall illuminating the atmosphere. 

To his left, there’s some doors along the hallway that are nothing more than utility closets. At the end of the hallway is a door with an exorbitant amount of red tape, the familiar “DO NOT ENTER” plastered across it. He’s never been in there before and he doesn’t have a key to enter—it’s a room reserved only for Hiyori, Ibara, Nagisa, and Jun, to his knowledge.

Glancing towards the other side of the hallway are more miscellaneous closets and storage rooms lining the sides. At the end is a room with a closed door. There is what seems to be a cardboard cutout of a blue fish hanging in the center of the door. In the space between the bottom of the door and the cool tile below, there’s a calm light blue light glowing.

Kanata’s room. 

Taking a right, Shinobu heads down the hallway. Getting closer to the end, Kanata’s room comes into sight. The door’s shut but the cardboard fish cutout is cute as ever. It has “Kanata” written on it in a round, stylized-font. Exactly what one would expect from him. Now that Shinobu’s more or less planted right in front of his room, the sounds of someone talking and some laughter can be heard. 

Extending a hand outwards, Shinobu gently raps against the door. One, two, and three taps against the cool metal. Even though Shinobu’s a quiet and stealthy person, his knocks are loud enough to be heard over the roar of whatever’s going on in Kanata’s room as the door is peeled open without much of a wait.

As expected, Kanata’s the one greeting Shinobu at the door. He doesn’t look too much different from what he was wearing earlier. And he’s not blocking the entire view of the room. Though Shinobu’s been in Kanata’s room before, it’s definitely been awhile. From where he is at the door, there’s a blue L-shaped couch big enough for at least five people, a flat-screen TV set with some animated movie flickering on the screen, and some fish tanks that make up the most of the far left wall. 

“Ah, it’s Shinobu. Chiaki~ look, Shinobu’s here.”

“Oh? Sengoku! It’s good to see you here!” Chiaki calls out to him from his seat in the center of the couch, giving him a firm smile and an energetic wave even though it’s pretty late at night. 

“Mhm~ but… is there a reason you’re here right now?” 

“Ah…! Well, …”

“I wanted to spend more time with you and Taichou-dono.” Shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot, Shinobu looks up at Kanata, practically with stars in his eyes. Spending time with his “elders” within their subgroup in LUNAR is always enjoyable, even if they can be a little…  _ strange _ sometimes.

“Didn’t get your fill when we were on our mission earlier today? Well, that’s alright. Come on in,” Kanata sings, stepping back and opening a space for Shinobu to enter. Once he’s fully in the room, the door slides closed behind him and he’s able to fully take in his surroundings. 

Kanata’s “room” is far more spacious than his room upstairs. In addition to what was visible from the door frame, there’s a small kitchen and a table to the right. To the left, past the row of fish tanks is a hallway that likely leads to a bedroom and a bathroom. Getting closer and taking a seat to Chiaki’s right on the couch, there’s a coffee table in between the TV set and the couch that he doesn’t remember being there the last time he was here for a movie night. Honestly, it’s more like a miniature apartment than just a room. Having such a spacious living area must be one of the perks that comes with being an Area Coordinator. 

Following right after Shinobu, Kanata takes a seat on the couch as well, leaning his back against Chiaki as he stretches his legs out along the length of the couch. Instinctively, Chiaki shuffles his position a bit and wraps his left arm sound Kanata. Smiling contently, Kanata lays his head on Chiaki’s shoulder as his eyes fixate onto the animated characters on the TV screen.

“Sengoku! Now that you’re here, care to stick around for the rest of the movie?” Chiaki asks, looking at Shinobu to his side.

“Sure!” Shinobu chirps out with enthusiasm, letting himself sink comfortably into the couch and into Chiaki’s side. If Natsume, Sora, and Tsumugi ended up not being able to play games tonight, then it’s fine. Spending time watching some cartoon movie with Kanata and Chiaki is equally as fun and relaxing, especially after such a disaster of a mission earlier. It’s good that there’s finally some time to calm down and just enjoy the company of his found family. Shinobu’s work life has been hectic recently, and having to train Midori and Tetora on communications isn’t easy when Midori has little to no interest in doing them and Tetora’s just… not the brightest when it comes to managing complex technological systems. 

But enough about work. This is a time to relax and laugh at the silly characters on the screen in front of them. As Shinobu nestles closer to his senior, Chiaki similarly lifts his arm up and throws it over Shinobu’s shoulder. Holding the three of them together like glue; an inseperable family. Nothing but gentle breaths escaping all of their lips accompanied by the glow of the TV and the light coming from the row of aquariums illuminating the living room. 

The three of them stay just like that for at least ten minutes, only to be interrupted by a loud explosion coming from above that shakes Kanata’s basement room. 

In an instant, Kanata and Chiaki are springing up from the couch and lunging towards the door, the peaceful and almost tranquil atmosphere that once enveloped the room only a memory. Following suit, Shinobu also hops up from the couch and runs towards the exit. 

“Oh god, not now. Terrible timing as always. Let’s go, we need to make sure everyone’s safe!” Sliding open the door, Chiaki stands to the side as Kanata makes his way out into the hallway. 

“Right, and we need to see what’s going on. Shinobu, let’s go. Chiaki and I will go and scope things out upstairs, but you need to go to the Communications Room and take care of that and see what information you can pull,” Kanata looks back and instructs like a true leader. Something to be expected from an Area Coordinator. 

“Okay! I’ll go to the Communications Room immediately!” 

Without another word, the three of them are clambering up the stairs to the first floor, only to go in opposite directions once they’ve re-entered the bar. Chiaki and Kanata head towards the front of the building, where the sound of the explosion came from. Shinobu, on the other hand, weaves through the tables and chairs until he’s at the bottom of the stairs to the upper levels of the building. Proceeding isn’t possible as the rest of the organization’s members are all accounted for as they storm down the stairs ready to confront whatever’s waiting for them outside.

There’s no time to talk, but Shinobu catches wind of Natsume’s worried glance as he’s heading down the stairs. Without Mika, his partner in nearly all of his organization-related matters, by his side, it’s as if he’s missing something. Naked, like a child without a security blanket or comfort object. It’s a little depressing, but there isn’t time to dwell on it. Nearly at the top of the first flight of stairs, Shinobu hastily turns the corner with a slide, thankful that he’s gripping the railing. His ascent continues until he’s reached the highest step and collides headfirst into Ibara’s chest, letting out a weak “oof” as he does so. 

“Watch where—nevermind that, this is no time to discipline you. Get to the Communications Room immediately.” Dusting himself off, Ibara gives a stern warning to Shinobu before running down the stairs to face the commotion head-on. 

“Yessir, Chief,” Shinobu squeaks out to Ibara’s shadowy figure as he descends down the stairs. Once he’s free of any more human-shaped obstacles, Shinobu is darting down the hallway, navigating each sharp turn like an expert. Knowing the layout of the third floor like the back of his hand, he finds the Communications Room with ease and places the palm of his right hand on the sensor. After half a second of scanning his DNA, the door slides open, a wave of cool air washing over him.

The lights are already on in the room, allowing him to quickly find his seat at the desk. It’s weird that the lights are on, though. They’re motion activated, so someone else had to have been in here recently. Ibara was up here, so it could have been him… But his “room” (see:  _ penthouse _ ) is also on the third floor, so he could have been coming from there as well.

“Ah, nevermind that!” Shinobu calls out to no one in particular as he slides into the leather seat in front of the main desk. While half of the communications room is made up of server storage and other technological inventions, the half that Shinobu primarily presides over is related to critical information and intelligence gathering. Technically, he’s in charge of the entire Communications Room, but this situation really only calls for attention to be paid to the contents on and behind the desk.

Directly in front of, and  _ technically  _ above him as the huge chair practically eats his small form up, are a plethora of television screens that are turned off… which is strange because the images on the screen come from the security camera footage, which should be on at all times. Shooting a quick glance to what’s sitting on the left of the desk, several black machines with knobs and switches sit quietly as they’re turned off. They’re the radio systems that allow dispatches to be sent to individual members, subunits, temporary teams, and the building’s very own PA system. They also pick up anything from bugs that have been planted, and there’s a special set of headphones that can be plugged in for extra-careful listening. Finally, on the right of the desk is a desktop computer with multiple monitors. Though it’s not important for now—resolving the emergency downstairs and figuring out what’s going on is more important than playing Minesweeper while Ibara’s not looking. 

“Right, so I need to turn on the radio. Try and tell everyone what’s going on and get some information. Yes, it’s a plan.” 

Scooting forward in the chair, Shinobu reaches over to his left and flicks the switch on the radio machines. As they warm up, he holds the headphone to his ear and listens as the static crinkles and turns from radio waves to something comprehensible. Turning the dial, he turns the channel to focus on the sensors from the outside of the building. There’s just bits and pieces coming into the feed; one of the wires must be faulty. Add that to his list of things to repair later. Sigh, maybe when this all blows over and things calm down Tetora and Midori will be able to help him out. It’d be good training for them anyways.

“What the… how did… him… Mi…” Ibara’s voice fades in and out as muffled shouts and a general commotion can be heard through the headset. Frowning at not being able to hear so well, Shinobu fiddles with the knob, trying to see if he can pick up a better signal at a different wavelength. 

Except he accidentally goes too far and hears what’s enough to be a crisis of its own.

It’s Mika’s voice. That’s for sure. But there’s no craziness in the background that would suggest that he’s engaged in whatever is happening downstairs. Of course there isn’t, because Shinobu’s actually turned the dial to listen in on the bugs they planted at the park. The bugs  _ meant  _ to give insight into STAR Corp’s activities, but are now giving too much information about Mika’s personal life as a different, more refined voice rolls through the headset.

This voice… It’s unfamiliar. But Mika’s talking to whoever the owner of this disembodied voice is. Maybe it’s his boyfriend or something? He could have sworn Natsume grumbled something about that earlier, but his memory on the topic is a little fuzzy. It’s none of his business

“I want to join LUNAR.”

… And Mika’s personal life isn’t any of Shinobu’s business, but now that he’s involving the entire organization in some big scheme, it is now. As the sole person responsible for overseeing the communications, this is about to get him in big trouble if Ibara finds out about it indirectly. 

Last time he checked, Mika  _ isn’t  _ the recruiter, unless he and Tsumugi switched jobs recently… Meaning, it’s not his business to go around getting members to join as far as Shinobu’s concerned. So, Mika getting some random guy to join isn’t good. It could put the entire organization in jeopardy, letting random outsiders in unless they’ve been properly vetted. Mika… Mika knows better than to do something like this, so, why? What’s going on? Something isn’t right, plus, with the way he was acting earlier… something’s fishy. 

Sitting back in the chair, Shinobu puts his hands over his face. God, there’s so much going on right now. But—thanks to the principles and techniques Ibara instilled in him—he needs to prioritize, meaning that it’s only logical turn on the security camera feed. Extending an arm forward, Shinobu flicks a switch and the screens before him light up. 

“Huh… it turned on without any problems, so it’s not like the wires or sensors are damaged. Which makes this even weirder… how did it get turned off?” Shaking his head, he looks back up at the screens. “Nevermind that. Something’s going on and I need to figure out what’s going on.”

Standing up on his toes to get a better look at a group of monitors, Shinobu squints as he tries to make out what’s happening before his eyes. In the parking lot of the building, there’s a cloud of smoke surrounding a full-sized car that looks like it’s seen much more vibrant days. Miraculously, the vehicle managed to avoid hitting any of the parked bikes in the lot. Talk about a stroke of luck. 

Shifting focus to a different camera, Shinobu catches a glimpse of a familiar vintage cowboy hat. Ibara seems to be making his way through the smoke to approach him, though anything more than either of their heads are too difficult to make out due to the camera’s vantage point. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the smoke, but looking at another monitor, Kanata and Natsume are pulling their guns out and aiming them towards the center of the smoke. Lunging across the desk with a gasp, Shinobu grabs the headset and lifts it to his ear with one hand, while the other frantically turns the knob back to the local channel and then presses down the button for the PA system. 

“Everyone! Don’t shoot—it’s just Mikejima-dono!” Shinobu heaves out, frantically trying to salvage this situation. “And the Chief’s in there, too!” 

“... Mama?”

“Mikejima-san?!”

“... hUH?”

Through the headset, Shinobu hears the sounds of several confused and disgruntled LUNAR members. On the monitors, the others begin to lower their guns. Holding on to them just in case, but overall on a much lower alert. 

That is, until the smoke clears up some more with a gust of wind and the rest of the scene is visible: Madara Mikejima gripping some small pink-haired boy who’s practically kicking and screaming as he’s dragged towards Ibara, a warm smile spread across his face as he brings the boy right up to Ibara.

“Here you go—! Mama’s here to help you out! I caught this one on my own. I saw him straggling around the casino like a lost puppy, so I snatched him up. He’s all yours now. I’ll be getting paid for this, correct?” 

With the boy coming closer into view, the LUNAR members surrounding Madara and Ibara draw their guns and position them right on the pink-haired boy, triggers ready to fire if he so much as makes one wrong move. 

“Are you an  _ idiot?” _ Ibara hisses out like a snake. Though his expression isn’t super clear due to the resolution on the monitor, Shinobu’s glad he isn’t in Madara’s position right now. A scary Ibara is not something he wants to be on the same continent as. “Making such a commotion when you’re delivering… whatever  _ this  _ is. I don’t recall asking for this. You would be wise to follow directions, though that would clearly be expecting far too much from you.”

“Ohoho, but I’m sure you won’t turn down my offer when I’m dangling it right in front of your nose, would you?”

“Give him to me,” Ibara commands, squatting down to squeeze the boy’s cheeks as he tilts his chin up, inspecting him as if he’s cattle. “What  _ is  _ this thing?” 

He’s met with muffled shouts and what’s probably a dirty glare. 

“He’s with STAR Corp. I assume you’ll be able to extract some information out of him… If he talks, that is.” 

“Tch.” Ibara spits out, clearly not in the mood for banter. “What’s in his mouth?”

“I found some cloth in the back of my car. He wouldn’t shut up, so I had to do it myself. He bit my finger when I was trying to stuff it in, can you believe it?!” 

Jeez, whoever this boy is, he’s feisty. 

“I don’t blame him. With the way you’re acting, I’d bite your finger too if I felt like being an animal.” 

“Implying that you’re not already one? Fufu, how interesting.”

“Silence. I have a lot to take care of, and your little stunt right here is not helping. You’re lucky I haven’t suggested that we take you in.”

“Hmmm, you wouldn’t. I have a great getaway… wait.” Pausing, Madara turns back to what seems to be his car. The one that crash landed into the parking lot and made a loud enough sound that it sounded close enough to an explosion. It was probably a combination of the engine giving out and the sheer impact with the ground as it dropped from the sky. Yikes. It’s a miracle that Madara and his captive made it out alive. “Haha… errr. Well, it seems that my great chariot is out of commission right now. So… I’ll have to stay at LUNAR… heheh…?” 

“... Invite yourself in for tea and cookies too, why don’t you?” Ibara remarks, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Fine. But your car can’t stay there. Chiaki, Tetora, Midori—go push it into the garage around the back. We’ll have it fixed up over the next day or so, but we can’t have it

“Roger that, Chief!” The three of them shout in unison, holstering thei weapons and running towards the car. 

Ibara looks ready to bark out some more orders. Clamping down his mouth, Shinobu fights the urge to tell Ibara about what he heard on the comms. No… well, technically it’s not lying if it’s just omission… right? Ibara has so much to deal with right now, so throwing more onto his plate would only make him angrier. Right. So the best thing to do is to keep quiet and monitor the cameras while Ibara takes control of the situation. Like a real Chief.

“Natsume, Kanata, and Mika—take this thing and put him in Chamber 623A. Just leave him there for now once he’s secured. Tsumugi, Sora, and Shinobu—I know you’re listening—you three will watch over him in shifts. I don’t care who takes which shift as long as it gets done. Figure it out.” Grabbing the pink-haired boy by the upper arm, Ibara marches him over to Kanata. “Here.”

“Ahhh, okay,” Kanata replies, taking the boy without question. “Errr… Chief. We may have a problem, I think…”

“Then solve it.” 

“... I don’t know how.”

“What do you mean you don’t know how? You’re an Area Coordinator. You’re not an imbecile. Figure it out.”

“I think what Kanata nii-san’s trying to saY,” Natsume begins, taking the fall for Kanata. And technically, taking the fall for Mika for the  _ second  _ time that night. “Mika-kun’s not heRE. I don’t know where he weNT. I didn’t see him after the meetING.” 

“... He’s  _ what?” _ Ibara seethes. 

Oh, oh no. Mika’s in trouble. Mika’s in big trouble. Bonking himself on the head, Shinobu groans to himself. “I’m so dumb! I should’ve said something earlier!”

“Shinobu—you  _ knew?!” _ Ibara screeches out over the comms. 

“Oh—aghh! I’m sorry Chief, I’m really sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt you earlier and you seemed to be in a bad mood and oh no oh no oh no please don’t punish me!”

“Now I’m even more mad. Do not  _ ever  _ hide things from me again. Just… ugh. I’ll deal with you later. Now we need to—”

As if on cue, the man of the hour pulls into the commotion in the parking lot. Pink-haired boyfriend in tow. Hopping off the bike, Mika looks around at the crowd.

“Err… are ya guys havin’ a party or somethin’?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOO EVERYONE THIS WAS THE SHUMIKA TENDERNESS YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR EVEN THOUGH IT'S JUST FOR A MOMENT
> 
> this is a shumika story but MAN do i love plot and worldbuilding... if that's not already evident LOL
> 
> the game is still ongoing, chapter 6 is currently in the works on discord if you'd like to read more of the story before it gets officially posted on ao3 AND participate in the plot decision making process -- feel free to join the valkyrieP server below! an enstars server (centered on valkyrie but all enstars content is welcome; we also have general chats for video games and anime, etc!) full of some of the most talented people in the fandom (seriously go check some of these people out i love them so much). come and make some new friends =D
> 
> other than that, i'm editing chapter 5 for ao3 and will be posting it shortly!
> 
> if you like my content please consider supporting me!  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sakradevi) | [my other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/works) | [valkyrieP discord server](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) ☆彡


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ibara takes charge. mika and shu are interrogated. mika and shinobu are in trouble. mika's in BIG trouble. something happens to tori, and natsume's acting weird. really weird. weirder than normal.
> 
> cliff hanger, but chapter 6 is currently on going in the valkyrie discord server so feel free to join and read up there :)

Even if everything is dutifully planned out, down to the minute, there’s always something—or in this instance,  _ several _ somethings that upturn those plans and calculations, no matter how meticulous. What was supposed to be a night of reflecting and reorganizing the plan for Mission MW turned into a metaphorical hot dumpster fire. 

But he’s Ibara Seagusa. He doesn’t just do well in stressful, unprecedented situations. He  _ thrives _ in said situations. Taking chaos and organizing it and turning it into something not just comprehensible, but a strong, strategic plan to resolve whatever issues have emerged? There’s a reason he’s the Chief and Hiyori’s right hand. It’s not just a title for show; it’s one he earned through hard work and perseverance. Starting from the very bottom and working his way all the way to the top. He’s not a genius like Kanata or Nagisa, but with his business-executive-meets-military-commander persona, he’s  _ the  _ expert for getting things done and getting them done well. 

Speaking of which, it’s time to get back to business. The five tasks at hand. Running through the list of problems and solutions he’s created in his head, Ibara evaluates his next step. First, the car that’s falling apart and drawing more attention than would ever be desired to LUNAR’s Headquarters, is being taken care of by the brawn of the group: Chiaki, Tetora, and Midori. 

With that squared away, there’s also the problem of their new prisoner. This pink-haired boy, who doesn’t look like anything more than an overgrown child, is handcuffed and has some cloth stuffed in his mouth. 

“... One thing at a time,” Ibara begins, finally ready to give out more commands as he glares down at Mika and his entourage. “First, Kanata and Natsume—and escort the prisoner to Chamber 632A.”

Two strong “yessirs” come from Kanata and Natsume respectively. It’s evident that neither of them wants to be on the receiving end of Ibara’s seething wrath. Without delay, they’re putting their weapons away and heading over to Ibara to each take one arm of the prisoner and lead him into the building. 

Sending a sharp glance to Sora and Tsumugi, Ibara continues to hand out orders. “You two. Follow Kanata and Natsume and guard the prisoner. Shinobu, you head down there too. Take three shifts during the night. I’ll formally interrogate him tomorrow morning. Until then, you all already know the drill. Go.”

“I—I’ll head down now. I’ll take the first shift. I’m really sorry, Chi—”

“Save it. I’ll discipline you later. Go.”

“I’ll take the second shift, then?” Tsumugi asks, looking over at Sora.

“Sure! Sora will take the third one and see you then.” 

Once those three are settled and heading inside the building, there’s only a handful of people left to deal with. The next one up is—

“Ibara, I’ll go and interrogate him for a bit.” 

Oh, okay. Hiyori’s going to do that. Fine. Saves him time, and he might be a better option to get some information out of this young boy than Ibara would be. 

Walking away from the scene, Hiyori follows Tsumugi and Sora into the building, a glimmer in his eye as he leaves the parking lot. By the looks of it, he has something planned. Interesting.

There are still three people left in the parking lot. The easiest one to handle right now is Madara, who’s bouncing around on his heels like a moron as he looks for something to do. How exhausting.

“You,” Ibara demands, pointing directly at Madara. “Just… Just get inside and go to the spare room. Don’t get into any trouble, just go straight to bed. You’re going to be working first thing in the morning to fix your car and get it off our property as soon as you can, you hear me?”

“Ah, sure do. A comfy bed and a clean, hot shower all for me? I’m living the life,” Madara sings to himself as he clasps his hands behind his head, practically whistling to himself as he walks past Ibara with a toothy grin. Resisting the urge to groan, Ibara stays professional and diverges his attention to the only two remaining people in the parking lot: Mika and the boy standing behind him. 

“Both of you. Follow me to the first floor Conference Room, now.” Turning on his heels, Ibara follows after the handful of people he just ordered away and makes his way into the building. The way he can command a situation is like no other leaves the two outside to follow him blindly out of fear. The three of them walk into the building, past the reception area and down the hallway, then to the left and into a room devoid of anything except for a long, white conference table and about twenty swivel chairs of the same color. 

Taking a seat at the head of the table, the other two sit across from each other several seats down from Ibara’s place. Setting his arms on the table and sitting in an upright posture, Ibara stares down the other occupants of the room. Mika sits as if this is the last day of his life. The other boy sits with a sense of poise, elegance, and calmness. An air of control seems to exude from him, even though the last thing he has right now is control over the situation. 

Time to break them down one by one and get some answers. 

“Now that we’re here, both of you have some explaining to do. Kagehira. You’re up first.” Giving Mika a stare strong enough to make even the most renowned soldier crack, Mika gulps as he fidgets in his seat, eyes wide with anticipation and a hint of fear. “First things first, …” 

“Why did you bring an outsider here?” Tapping fingers against the table in a rhythmic fashion, Ibara awaits an answer. Mika hesitates.

“Errm… Well… Uh,” he begins, attempts to stall futile as his companion butts in and covers for him. 

“He didn’t bring me here, I wanted—” Shu tries to explain, only to then be cut off by Ibara. 

“Silence. I wasn’t speaking to you,” Ibara bites out. Shooting daggers at Mika, Ibara extends an arm out and gestures for him to continue explaining. “I’m going to repeat myself  _ again.  _ Why did you bring an outsider here?”

“Eep! H-He really wanted t’join, an’ I gotta be by his side always, so I brought him ‘ere thinkin’ that he could join… He can, right? ‘m ‘ere an’ ‘m endorsin’ him, so it’s gotta be fine, right?” 

Not a good enough explanation. Which is a shame, because Mika could do well to have a very, very good explanation as to why he’s so blatantly violating one of LUNAR’s most important codes: no outsiders. Under any circumstance, ever. Enough run-ins with double agents from STAR Corp or more frequently, some lower organization that wants to take over LUNAR’s place in the world, have hardened Ibara’s ways and forced his hand to tighten up security. To the point where only authorized members are allowed on the premises. Bringing in a stranger isn’t authorized or welcome. It’s unsightly.

“Kagehira. Tell me. What do you think I’m going to say to that?”

“Errrmmm,” Mika drawls out, toying with his fingers as he gazes down at the center of the table. He’s backed into a corner with Ibara’s tight, unrelenting gaze. No more time for games. It’s late, it’s been a long evening, Ibara just wants to go to bed and not deal with his junior’s problems. Really, they’ve now become  _ his  _ problem since they’ve been brought right to LUNAR’s doorstep. Ugh. 

“Yer… yer gonna… say yes?” Mika asks with uncertainty. Though seeing how Ibara’s eye twitches after saying that, he seems to be a little more certain of what the “right” answer is. “Ahh—! Wait, no yer gonna say no! Nope, nope, nope-ity, nope, nope! Big no from ya over there, ‘m sure!”

Cue audible groaning coming from the head of the table. “Do not play around with me. You’re in  _ serious  _ trouble. It would be wise for you to head to the library and read up on our policies and procedures again to refresh your memory. Actually, consider that part of your punishment. Though you may see it as a punishment, it’s actually a learning experience. But don’t worry—there’s more to come for you.” 

Hanging his head and accepting his fate, Mika lets out a whimper. “Nnnhh… Oh man. I really have it comin’, don’t I…” 

“It’s late and I don’t want to spend the better part of my night lecturing you or else we’ll be here for days,” Ibara warns, expression still tight but exhaustion pricks at the corners of his face. While he is a capable leader, he’s still human. He needs sufficient rest in order to lead the organization forward and chart their every move. He can’t do his job well if he’s sleep-deprived, so he’ll need to wrap this up shortly. “For now, you will go to your room and you are  _ not  _ to leave until it’s time for breakfast tomorrow morning—do I make myself clear?”

“Nnnh, yup…”

“Excellent. Now, go.” 

Without needing to be told twice, Mika gets up from his seat and slinks towards the door. Before exiting, he turns around and gives the boy that’s still seated a dejected glance and mouths something that’s difficult to catch. Soon after, the door is sliding open and closing right after his figure exits the room. 

Letting his eyes rest on the only other occupant in the room, Ibara looks over him. He seems to be just an ordinary boy around the same age, though his clothing is designer. Whoever he is, he’s not some random person who wandered in off the streets. He’s not like the rest of the organization. Interesting. 

“Start talking.” 

“Yes—let me explain. My name is Shu Itsuki. I want to join LUNAR more than anything right now. And I apologize on behalf of my partner, and I also want to ensure that none of this is his fault. I wanted him to bring me here. No, I  _ insisted  _ he bring me here and let me join. Please do not direct your frustrations at him. I’m the one to blame for this situation.” 

_ “I _ will be the one deciding who’s to blame for this mess. Do not even try to apologize right now. It would be wise for you to remember that while you—a non-member—is at LUNAR, you are under our jurisdiction.” 

“Listen. I’m more valuable to you than you are to me right now,” Shu responds sternly, though with less bite than Ibara’s putting out. Standing his ground, but not advancing into uncharted territory. 

“And what makes you believe that?” Ibara scoffs, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at what Shu’s saying. “You’re rather desperate to join for whatever reason. At worst you have malicious intent and you’re trying to deceive me, and at best, you’re bluffing, hoping that your bluff will be powerful enough to get you in. Assuming that there’s even a chance you can get in.”

“Oh, but there is,” Shu begins, setting an arm to rest on the table, casually almost. “That pink-haired boy in handcuffs that was just hand-delivered to you by some delinquent? I know him and I can give you information. For the price of letting me join.” 

Oh. Things just got far more interesting. 

“How do you know him?” It’s an important question. There isn’t much information on Shu’s background or moral standing, so trying to piece it together will provide LUNAR with a better ability to decide what to do with him.

“Simple. As I said, I’m a member of the Itsuki family. I assume you’ve heard of them; we’re not nobodies, after all. That boy is part of the Himemiya family, and due to the nature of our families I’ve come to interact with him at social gatherings here and there.”

“Ah, yes. The Itsuki family. I’ve heard of that name before. Relatively powerful in the realm of technological innovations. Insignificant elsewhere,” Ibara chides, not trying to provoke Shu but to merely lower him from the high pedestal he sees himself on. “Hmmm. So, to me it seems that you’re implying that you have powerful connections.” 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. And it’s not just his family. My family has ties to many prominent families in this city. And since we’re in the capital, most—though not all—prominent families reside here. In other words, I have things that money can’t buy: access to information about some very important people.”

Sitting back in the swivel chair, Ibara stares down Shu, though his gaze is less intense than earlier. LUNAR was never meant for individuals from well-to-do society. It was always intended to be a refuge for those with no other place to call home. A band of people who somehow made it on their own despite how their city and society is in a constant state of pushing those who are barely floating even further into the sea. Having someone who isn’t lost and doesn’t fit that profile goes against what LUNAR stands for and strives to achieve. 

But times are changing. STAR Corp was always big and powerful, but it was kept in check by other organizations who rivaled it. However, over time it grew and grew, only becoming bigger and stronger in the process until it swallowed up all of its competitors one by one. Turning much of the city, its government, and its people into nothing but puppets for their ill aims. Literally sucking the life out of innocents, and expanding into alternate realities because they’re running out of options here. It’s sickening. 

Only LUNAR is able to rival STAR Corp and they’ve been at a disadvantage for some time—resources and supplies getting exhausted too fast, members defecting elsewhere, STAR Corp having better connections and more resources, the list goes on. But having someone like Shu on their side… this isn’t minor. This is something that can turn the tables entirely. A secret weapon. LUNAR’s very own double agent.

Exactly. This is just what LUNAR needs. Ibara was sitting hunched over a desk for weeks trying to figure out how to get a leg up on STAR Corp, which always seemed to be one step ahead no matter what. But this, the missing puzzle piece—someone to infiltrate their ranks and gather information faster than they currently get it from tracing contacts and conducting searches that way. He’ll need to speak to Kagehira later to figure out their relationship and more information about him before coming to a final decision, but this boy definitely has a use. 

“I see. LUNAR could use someone like you. What else do you know?” 

“Pfft,” Shu scoffs. Quirking an eye up at his reaction, Ibara goes back to giving Shu a stern look. “You need to give me what I want before I give you everything you want. Fulfill my request and I’ll give you as much information as I can about him and others in this city.”

To think that he’s got the upper hand in this negotiation. He’s nothing more than a cocky rich boy.

Time to put him in his place. 

“You’ve already told me his last name. Coupled with the information that he’s from a powerful family—which I assumed anyways, or else my contact wouldn’t have brought him to my doorstep—that much should be sufficient to begin researching him. And I still need to examine your history before I can ‘give you what you want.’ It’s a security measure I’m sure you’d understand. You’re cocky, but you’re not unintelligent. That much is obvious.”

Without waiting for a response, Ibara reaches up to his ear and presses a button to activate a direct communication channel.

“Your Highness. Apologies for the interruption. Has the prisoner been compliant?”

Coming in clear through the headset without so much as a single wave of static, Hiyori’s voice travels to Ibara. “Not a word of anything useful, but he  _ does  _ have a big mouth. What a brat.”

Hmm… his refusal to talk is only helping Shu’s case. It’s not hurting the man across the table any by being so obnoxious. Clicking the receptor off, Ibara looks back at Shu.

“So… for now, I’m dismissing you. Here’s a business card.” Procuring a business card conveniently located in his front pocket, Ibara sets it on the table and slides it down the length of it, stopping in front of Shu with expert skill. It’s no different from any of the other business cards handed out. A simple design with LUNAR’s logo on it. Given to those that are likely to end up affiliated with LUNAR in some way. “This isn’t an offer or acceptance, but if you  _ are  _ someone we can use, you will be contacted. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand,” Shu answers, picking up the card and looking at the front and the back, brows furrowing as his eyes land upon the full name of the organization. Legion for Unincorporated Nuclear Age Resurrectionists. He better remember it, Ibara hopes. “I really do want to join and I’m certain I will be an invaluable asset.” 

“... Right then. Well, I’ll escort you out of the building now. We may be in touch soon.”

“Okay.” 

Without another word, Ibara gets up and makes his way to the door with Shu following closely after him. Down the hall they go, leaving the Conference Room empty. 

* * *

Upon hearing static followed by a loud beep coming from the PA system, Mika shoots up out of bed with a yelp. 

“Good morning, LUNAR members. It’s Shinobu bringing you the morning announcements.”

Oh, okay. A familiar voice. It’s just the PA system, nothing to be afraid of. Rubbing his eyes after suddenly being awoken, Mika stretches and lets out a tired yawn. 

“Today is June 24th, 2630. We will be reporting downstairs in 30 minutes for breakfast and the Chief’s morning briefing as usual,” Shinobu begins, listing out the objectives for the day. “This afternoon, Ran-dono and Sazanami-dono are expected to return from their negotiation venture. We still have our prisoner in our captivity. Finally, one unit will be going downtown and the other unit will be going to the subway to scope out potential leads on elite STAR Corp members. Further details will be provided by the Chief.”

Without further ado, there’s a click from the PA system and Shinobu’s voice is gone as quickly as it came. Stretching out both arms above his head, Mika groans as the morning light hits his eyes.

Without further ado, the blankets are thrown off in a hurry and yesterday’s outfit is thrown on. It’s not something that was worn for an exhaustive amount of time, so it’s okay to wear it for another day. Though it seems that this is the only pair of clothes in the room, aside from Mika’s Yumenosaki school uniform, which can’t be worn due to obvious reasons pertaining to this world. 

Speaking of which, Mika’s been in this place for over half a day. And he still hasn’t told anyone about his little predicament. As far as he’s concerned, no one is onto him or how he’s not supposed to be here. And a part of him wants to tell someone and get some help because if nothing else is clear, it’s evident that he isn’t supposed to be here. That something is wrong. Awfully, terribly, wrong. 

But talking about problems is scary. It’s a bridge that will have to be crossed later if he can help it. Perhaps the best way to get out is to lay low and gather information; eventually someone will give him a clue as to how he even got here if he’s patient and hangs around different groups of people. Whether it’s indirect or direct, it doesn’t matter as long as he gets some information that can help him piece back how to get home. Asking for help isn’t something on Mika’s mind, though. Proving to no one but himself that he can solve his own problems, that he doesn’t need to rely on anyone else, that…

That’s what will make him human, right?

No… jeez, his smartphone not unlocking and saying that rather chilling message that he’s not human is really doing things to him. On the verge of sending him spiraling and relapsing into unhealthy thinking patterns. He needs to get over thinking like this. It’s hard, but he’s done it before. He can do it again.

Even though Shu’s gone—again—and he’ll have to do it alone for now. But first thing’s first. It’s time to go downstairs, eat a meal, and find Shu… again. He hopes he’s fine, after last night’s debacle. Hopefully Ibara didn’t chew him out too much, and hopefully everything worked out. Well, he’ll find out once he gets downstairs. 

With a sigh, Mika looks outside the window behind the desk. It must be one-way glass because he can’t recall being able to see inside of any of the windows from outside, but nothing is obstructing his view of the world around him. It looks the same as last night, minus the sky. Neon lights on and loud, though they’re dimmer with the way the sun shines down onto the city. 

It’s no time to dawdle, though. Hands in his pockets, Mika takes out the photographs from last night’s excursion and sets them on the desk before heading out the door and down the hallway. On his way down, he doesn’t see anyone else. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, the reason why is evident: he’s the last one there. Right. As usual, apparently.

Scanning the bar area, there are groups at a handful of tables. A group with Switch, Ryuseitai, and Hiyori and Madara. Once his eyes land on Natsume’s table again, he smiles. Natsume’s waving at him, asking him to join their table without words. 

Obliging, Mika walks over, giving glances to the other groups on his way over. Before long, he’s sitting sandwiched between Natsume and Sora as he exchanges good mornings with the three of them. As he slides into the chair, a wave of deja vu washes over him. Taking note of their positions, Mika can’t help but feel somewhat off. Coincidentally, they’re all sitting in the same formation that they were in last night when they played that weird card game together. The one that gave him a really weird prophecy about his future that he kind of forgot about until he’s back at the same place he was. It’s probably the stimulus of being back at the table with the same people that prompts him to remember it. 

Right, the fortune that told him how fake he is and how he’s wearing a mask when he’s with others. But… it can’t be true, can it? Mika doesn’t want to be fake; he tries his best to be his most authentic self. Though maybe others around him see him as a fake? It’s confusing, but the machine  _ did  _ tell him that he’ll be able to break free from this persona in the future so… Maybe it’s right. Who knows—it’s time for breakfast, not an existential crisis before noon. 

“Here you go~” Sora sings out as if he was reading Mika’s mind. From his left comes a plate with delicious-looking eggs, bread, and tomatoes. Not realizing how hungry he is until now, Mika begins to dig in, enjoying the food way more than everyone else seems to be. It’s no gourmet meal, but it’s food, it’s warm, and he’s hungry.

“Hey, Mika-kuN,” Natsume begins, setting his cup down on the table with a clink. Quirking an eyebrow up, Natsume doesn’t look at Mika as he messes with whatever’s on his plate. “Glad you were able to join us todAY.” 

“Eheheh, mmmnnh, yup. ‘m glad ‘m ‘ere, too,” Mika finally gets out after finishing up a bite of his meal.

“We were all a little worried about you,” Tsumugi adds. “Especially with everything that happened after the mission last night. Oh, and with Mikejima-kun and that new prisoner, too...” 

“YeaH. That sucked ass big tiME. And to top it all off, you brought your boyfriend heRE? Are you a lunatIC? I’m surprised the Chief hasn’t killed you himself yET.” 

“Mhm! The Chief can be really, really scary, so it’s good to see that you’re all in one piece. Plus, Sora wants to know what you were up to last night!” Smiling, Sora looks at Mika with a gleam of light shining in his eyes. “Sora missed you…” 

“Ahhh, errm…” Not knowing how to answer all of these questions, Mika scratches the back of his head as he tries to think of an answer on the spot. Can’t keep them waiting too long, though. 

“I went t’ go an’ find Oshi-san…?”

“Hm…? Well, that’s okay, isn’t it?” Sora responds, cocking his head to the side as he looks at Mika with a smile. He doesn’t seem to be the least bit phased by the commotion Shu’s appearance caused (for Ibara, at least). "Right, Master~?" 

Looking over at Natsume, there's a completely different expression on his face. Running directly counter to Sora's happy-go-lucky appearance despite the fact that it's only about 8:30 in the morning, Natsume's staring off to the side with his chin resting in his hand. Elbows planted firmly on the table as he looks just plain  _ bored. _ Though with a closer look, it's less that he's bored and more like he's unhappy about something that's on his mind.

In the time that Mika's known Natsume, he's always known him to be an expressive person. That doesn't seem to be any different in this world, either. Even if everything else is changing and unlike anything he's ever experienced before, surroundings and situations constantly in a state of flux, at least everyone he knows from Yumenosaki more or less seems to be like the same person. There haven't been any major personality changes, even though some relationship dynamics are different. Like, the fact that he's apparently in a relationship now. It makes him happy— _ so _ happy—but it's a weird feeling. Especially since Mika can't help but feel like it's temporary. This world is teasing him with things that he knows are nothing more than dreams back as a student at Yumenosaki. 

But putting his relationships with people (see: Shu Itsuki) in this world aside, Natsume's demeanor is concerning. He can definitely lie and perform all sorts of tricks to be deceptive in his own ways, but hiding his feelings isn't something he's an expert at. Not when they're written so clearly across his face. Even Mika, who definitely isn't an expert at handling interpersonal relationships or understanding the feelings, emotions, and thoughts of others, can tell that something isn't right with Natsume. 

Plus, seeing Natsume hesitate to respond to Sora doesn't help convince Mika that everything's alright with him. "Y-yeah. Nakkun, 's fine, isn't it? Are ya doin' okay...?"

With a puff of air, flipping his bangs up, Natsume lifts his chin from his palm and squirms to sit in a less relaxed position. "... YeaH. I'm fine, you don't need to worry about mE. It's nothiNG.”

"Master...?" Sora asks, also seeming to pick up that something is off with Natsume. He wasn't acting like this before. Now, instead of smiling cheerfully his expression becomes one of concern. "Ah! Maybe we can go and play some games if the Chief is nice enough to give us some free time later. Sora hopes that will cheer you up...!"

"I said I'm fiNE," Natsume repeats, this time with more bite in his tone. Enough to send a shiver down the spine of everyone at the table. Looking at Sora, he looks like he's ready to curl up into a ball. Tsumugi on the other hand looks like he's ready to offer up a change in topic any minute now.

"Ahh, nnh, well, if ya say so... But if 'm gonna be honest, yer reaction right there kinda surprised me. If ya don't want t'talk 'bout it 'ere then we can go an' talk later if that's alright? Yanno, if somethin's buggin' ya 's best t'go an' tell someone 'bout it instead of bottlin' it up. So what 'm tryin' t'say is that if ya need me to, 'm 'ere t'listen," Mika reassures, clearly picking up that something is off with him this morning. Even if he won't admit it to himself or to those around him, Mika's not his best friend for no reason. He knows all the bells and whistles that come along with Natsume's rollercoaster ride of an emotional state like it's the back of his hand. 

... Though he can't help but feel like saying that he went to go find Shu last night triggered this reaction. Natsume looked fine up until now, and even a few moments ago when they were chatting amongst themselves while eating breakfast, there didn't seem to be any such hint of something that would cause concern.

Nevertheless, it's futile to figure out why Natsume's like this right now. The best way to understand it would be to ask him directly, though that would only ignite more problems. Offering a pointed look at the wall clock, it seems that there are still about ten minutes before the meeting they've all been called down here for is about to begin. Plenty of time for Mika to ask a question of his own.

“Nnnh, so,” Mika begins in an attempt to change the topic. “What’re yer guys’ plans fer today?”

“We’ll be doing the same as always, unless the Chief tells us otherwise,” Tsumugi answers. “We  _ do  _ have that prisoner to deal with, though. Sora and I got stuck with him yesterday, so I’m not sure if we’ll be watching him again today. I suppose it isn’t out of the question, though.”

“Mhm~ He was easy to get along with, but maybe that’s just because Sora was sleepy.”

“Sora! You know you shouldn’t be trying to make friends with the prisoner. Goodness, even if it is last you need to be more careful.”

… That’s right. The “prisoner” in question is Tori. And if everything here couldn’t get more complicated, that just had to change. It’s not like Mika’s  _ really  _ on great terms with Tori after last year’s  _ incident, _ but surely his association with fine isn’t enough for him to be a prisoner? If that’s the reason he even is one, anyway. Either way, Mika finds it strange how casual everyone seems to be about all of this. 

“Ahh… I see,” Mika replies. Though Sora and Tsumugi’s answers don’t really give him any insight. Sigh, it’s better than nothing though. Looking at Natsume, he expects an answer but he’s staring across the bar at someone… or something? It’s hard to tell where exactly his eyes are fixated.

Natsume’s uncharacteristically quiet. Moody, almost. It’s strange, but before Mika has the chance to poke at him and try and figure his best friend out, everyone’s attention drifts towards a certain red-haired man walking to the front of the bar.

Making his way to the front of the room behind the familiar desk with a pile of documents in tow, Ibara drops the papers on the table with a slap. Waking everyone up in the room and taking full command of the LUNAR member's attention spans. "May I please have everyone's attention?"

In an instant, all the chatting in the bar comes to a halt. Clearing his throat, Ibara sends a quick glance down to one of the papers in front of him before looking back up at the bodies in front of him. 

“Let’s get this meeting started. I have several announcements and objectives for today. The first one may come as a shock to you, but after pouring over documents and analyzing both our movements and STAR Corp’s, I think this is something that has to be done. Operation MW… We’ll launch it in three days from now. June 27th.” 

“Huh?”

“W—what?!”

“Chief, that’s… that’s too early! We’ll never be ready in time!” 

Almost mechanically, the once-silent room is filled with chatter amongst all of the LUNAR members. Everyone except for Mika seems to be in a different state of disbelief. Judging from everyone’s reaction, this doesn’t seem to have been anticipated or wanted by anyone here at all.

Speaking over everyone and trying to regain control of the situation, Ibara’s tone becomes more formidable. “Everyone, quiet down! I didn’t make this decision out of thin air. And if we’re going to follow through with this, I need you all to cooperate.”

“Chief!” In an instant, Chiaki is standing up from his seat with a wary expression. “If I may ask—isn’t it too dangerous for us to embark on such a large-scale operation so soon?”

Backing him up, Tsumugi stands up as well. “I agree. Originally, Operation MW wasn’t planned for another three months. I find that having such short notice for moving the mission up will do more harm than good…”

“No, that isn’t the case. I wouldn’t unnecessarily put LUNAR in a dangerous spot. I’m confident we’ll be able to succeed. We have a secret weapon. Here,” reaching down on the table, Ibara picks up some sort of remote control. Clicking it while pointing it towards the ceiling, one of the tiles open up and a rectangular device comes down. A projector. Stepping to the side, Ibara clicks another button and a slideshow appears. Except the contents of it aren’t something Mika would have ever expected to see. 

It’s a picture of Shu. Not a mugshot, but it looks like the type of picture that would be taken for a school ID photo. A headshot, from the shoulders up. With his typical resting expression; neutral.

“This. This person right here is our secret weapon.”

There are a hundred and one different things swarming in Mika’s mind right now. About seventy-five percent of them are negative and one hundred percent of them are about Shu. Biting his tongue, he keps his mouth shut and hopes Ibara’s ready to explain how Shu is some sort of “secret weapon.”

“...Who’s that?” Midori asks, standing up next to Chiaki. 

“Excellent question. I’d like all of you except one to virtually meet Shu Itsuki. He’s our newest LUNAR member.”

A mixture of incredulous stares and “huhs” come from the crowd seated in the bar. Mika guesses that it’s been awhile since they’ve gotten a new member, and having a new member join at the same time such an apparently critical mission has been moved forward… it seems planned, almost. Or a really strange coincidence.

If it were physically possible, Mika’s jaw would have hit the floor with how far he dropped it. It’s hard to believe that Ibara let Shu join so quickly. But… wait. If Shu’s a new member… then why isn’t he here?

Fortunately he doesn’t have to wait too long for an answer as Ibara continues the morning meeting.

“He’s part of one of the highest classes in society. He’s not part of STAR Corp, but he’s connected to people who are. He’s our shot to infiltrate their HQ and put an end to all the madness they’ve brought to our world. Except there’s one catch,” Ibara adds, pausing. Looking right at Mika, who brought him here in the first place. “No one is allowed to know that he’s a member of LUNAR.”

So  _ that’s  _ why Shu isn’t here right now. He can’t be here. Which means that he’s not just separated from Shu without knowing where he is, he’s not supposed to even be seen with Shu as long as he’s a member of LUNAR.

… He needs to get out of here. This is unbearable. He can’t stay in this world any longer. It’s been less than a day, but he needs to go home. 

“Ahh… so, he’s like a double agent, then?” Kanata asks, joining Midori and Chiaki. “A spy.”

“Precisely. To the outside world, he’s still Shu Itsuki. Just a normal boy with a normal life. Well, as normal as can be as the son of aristocrats. But to us, he’s our key to getting information and connections we’d never think would be possible. This is why Operation MW can be executed so quickly. I have him on the ground today getting us information about STAR Corp. In fact, he should be checking in within the hour. Shinobu and Midori will be on comms today.”

“What about me?” Tetora asks. “I thought I was supposed to be getting some more training for communications and stuff, yeah?” 

“You are. But we need to get Mikejima-shi off the property as soon as possible,” Ibara replies, head snapping over to Madara. Madara’s lounging comfortably in the chair, smiling and waving at everyone as if he’s a regular. “You, Morisawa-shi, and Mikejima-shi will be fixing his car up in the garage. I’d like you to be finished by the middle of the afternoon. We’ve got a lot on our schedule today.”

“Aww, man! I don’t wanna be stuck in the garage all day.”

“Don’t worry, Nagumo! We’ll get it done as soon as possible and then we’ll have the rest of the afternoon to do hero-things!”

“If you say so…” Dejected and not in the mood to participate in a discussion that won’t go anywhere, Tetora sits back down and crosses his arms.

“Right, so with that squared away… As mentioned on the PA system, two of our members are returning today with promising information. They should be at The Colony finishing up discussions. From what I’ve heard so far, they’re not budging a whole lot but we might be able to bargain with them. They really want to be independent for some reason… it only puts them at a disadvantage. Tch. It’s their loss, but this is starting to get off-topic. Anyways, Shinkai-shi, see if you can scope around the casino. It shouldn’t be an issue in broad daylight. Sakasaki-shi and Harukawa, go be backup fo Shinkai-shi and perform recon downtown. Aoba-san, you… go grocery shopping. We’re running low. And Sengoku-shi, Kagehira-shi, you two stay back. I have special assignments for the two of you. Other than that, I think everyone’s been given an assignment. Meeting dismissed.”

Gulping, Mika feels a bead of sweat slide down the side of his neck. This can’t be good. It’s probably got to be something to do with the punishment Ibara mentioned last night… Eek!

“Tch.” Without another word, Natsume’s getting up and stalking off towards the stairs to the second floor. He’s the first one up, but not long after everyone else gets up from their seat and gets ready for their task for now.

But Natsume doesn’t look happy, and he was acting strange earlier. Mika can’t help but shake the feeling that something’s wrong. He should stay put and let Ibara have his way with him. Running away is only going to infuriate Ibara even more, and an angry Ibara is scary. Being on the receiving end of his wrath is already bad, and making it worse is just a big old nope. Besides, Natsume didn’t really seem like he wants to have anyone pester him right now. Maybe in a few minutes Mika will get some time to sneak off and check on him, and hopefully by then he’ll have cooled off. But right now it’s time for the lecture of a lifetime. Sending a quick glance as Shinobu who looks equally as terrified, they exchange nods and make their way over to Ibara’s desk.

“You two. Both of you are already aware, I’m sure, but you’re in trouble. Before I give you the whole nine yards, I’ll have you both know that I’m disappointed. I expected better than you. I don’t like to be deceived or have rules broken. With that said, if there are any other surprises either of you are keeping from me, now is the time to tell me before you dig an even deeper grave for yourselves.”

“Nnnh, I gotta say somethin’,” Mika pipes up, heart racing with anxiety. This is it. Finally getting some help for his problem. Ibara’s knowledgeable. He’ll know what to do. He’ll know how to get him home. If he doesn’t know, then there probably isn’t a single person who does. “The truth is, ‘m not from this world.”

But instead of the kind and helpful reception he was expecting, he’s met with deafening silence. Shinobu’s looking at him in shock, and Ibara’s face is solid as a rock. It’s too difficult to read what he’s thinking. 

Fortunately, Ibara’s the kind of person who says what’s on his mind. There doesn’t need to be any guessing when it comes to his thoughts, because he’ll spell them out clearly.

“... You know, I thought something was off about you. Something was up, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I assumed it was just you and Sakasaki-shi doing your regular oddities, but there was something off. Hearing you say that you’re not from this world… it answers some questions I had.” Standing his ground, Ibara’s eyes dart from each side of the room before landing squarely on Mika’s figure. “I should have figured as much earlier. You’re an agent from STAR Corp.” 

“Huh—what? No… ‘m not. ‘m not from ‘ere, I hardly know what all of this LUNAR nonsense is, I don’t have a clue what STAR Corp even means an—”

Pulling his gun from his holster, Ibara clicks it on and it begins to hum. Shinobu stares in silence before gulping and pulling out a pocketful of throwing stars.

“You’re under arrest. Don’t try anything.”

Although his first instinct is to run away from the danger, Mika stays put. Even though his heart is racing and he’s on the verge of panicking, he doesn’t try to escape. With the way Shinobu and Ibara have their weapons aimed right at him, there’s no way he’ll be able to escape without getting injured. Plus, they have the advantage of knowing the layout of not just this building, but the entire city around them. Plus, he’s outnumbered at least ten to one. Running from them is futile. He’ll just have to accept his fate and try to figure out a way home later.

Nodding to Shinobu, Ibara procures two metal rings, neon pink hues glowing from the center around the rings. Getting closer to Mika, he grabs both of his wrists and twists them behind him, locking the manacles in place. Once they’re connected, some sort of plasma is emitted between the two rings, keeping them together and unbreakable.

“Nnnh, ah! Hey—! ‘m tellin’ the truth, ‘m not from ‘ere. An’ ‘m not a spy or anythin’ like that either! Ya have t’believe me!” Mika cries out in a desperate attempt to win the others over. Tugging his wrists apart, he doesn’t have much room to move around as there’s little give. Getting out of these seems almost impossible.

“Save it,” Ibara sneers. Manhandling him forward, Ibara pushes Mika and gets him to start walking, steering him towards the stairs to the basement. 

“What should I do, Chief?” Shinobu questions, keeping his throwing stars close at hand as he follows Ibara and Mika down the steps. 

“Just follow me. Don’t forget, you’re still not off the hook just yet.” 

“Eeep, ah, alright… I understand.”

Once the trio is at the bottom of the stairs, Ibara swivels Mika to the left and marches him down the hall. Only stopping when he’s in front of one of the doors in the hallway. opening it up to reveal another long hallway that Mika gets shoved through. At the end of this hallway is a metal door with several different panels on the side. Releasing his grip on Mika, Ibara puts his palm on one of the scanners. After, he leans in and has his face scanned. Finally, he punches in a passcode on the lowest panel and the door swishes open. Security wherever he’s headed sure is tight. 

As he’s once again pushed through the doors, he’s surprised to mind all sorts of other doors in here. More than he expected. Walking past them, they’re all numbered and the doors to each room are translucent like they’re made out of some sort of hologram or glowing-substance. Looking into the various rooms, they all look more or less the same: dark, dingy, and with only a single metal bench attached to one of the walls. They must be prison cells, except there are no prisoners even though at least fifteen different rooms crowd this area. 

Though Mika doesn’t have too much time to dwell or take in his surroundings. After a series of twists and turns through the unfamiliar room, Mika is stopped in front of a cell labeled 0701C-3. Letting go of Mika, Ibara follows a similar process on the touchpad next to the door, although this time a single palm scan is enough to stop the shield acting as a door from emitting particles, allowing Mika entry. With a final shove, Mika’s thrown into the cell and is sat on the bench. Ibara comes over to him and sits him on the bench, attaching the beams of light joining his handcuffs together to a hook on the wall, keeping him effectively chained to the bench. Giving a few tentative tugs, Mika realizes that he really can’t move from the position he’s in.

“What’re ya gonna do with me? Just leave m’ ‘ere?”

“For the time being, yes. You’ll be dealt with accordingly in due time. Sit here and think about your actions. Sengoku-shi, follow me. I still need to discipline you.” With that, Ibara heads out of the cell, the door sealing itself shut behind him. Before walking away from the door, Shinobu sends Mika a sad glance. But as quick as it comes, it’s gone along with the only two others who he saw in this area.

Thinking back on Ibara’s words, Mika can’t help but feel like Ibara left him here like he’s a child on time out. Giving him time to think… is he suggesting that Mika can get a second chance and try to explain what’s going on? Or is he just left here to wait for some unknown, probably disastrous and painful, punishment? No matter what, he can’t just stay here forever. Feeling like he’s all the way back at square one, Mika resolves to get out. Shu would know what to do. He needs to go home. This world isn’t just wrong, it’s scary, not knowing what to expect or what to do.

Wriggling his arms around, it’s no use. The binds are tight and even if he tries to pull his wrists apart to give himself some room to work with, it’s impossible as the light material doesn’t have any give. Even trying to move his arms up to maneuver over the hook is pointless as the manacles lock him into place against the bench.

“Nnnnh, this ‘s no good. ‘m in really really big trouble.” Sighing to himself Mika slinks back against the wall, though it isn’t very comfortable. The combination of the hard bench and wall behind him with the way his wrists are locked into place isn’t doing wonders for his posture. If Shu was here, he’d never hear the end of it.

Speaking of Shu, how he’d like nothing more than to see him right now and live out their little fantasy life of being in love with each other. Reciprocated love—especially with Shu—is something he’s only dreamed about. And looking down at his current predicament, his relationship with Shu in this world seems to be one of the few overwhelmingly positive things here. If Shu was here, then that’s all he’d ever need.

And before he’s able to daydream any longer, footsteps can be heard coming down the hallway as they click against the tile. There’s no voice coming, so Mika isn’t sure who it could be.

Could it be a rescuer? Or, no… Maybe it’s Ibara or Hiyori or someone coming down to punish him. Or maybe it’s someone breaking into LUNAR and kidnapping him for some evil reason? Hmm...

The best thing to do is to stay quiet and hide. Ruthlessly endangering himself to some unknown person isn’t a smart decision. Taking in a breath, Mika subconsciously shrinks down against the wall, keeping his ears acutely attuned to the footsteps in the hallway. The footsteps which are only getting louder—closer. Someone’s coming directly his way.

And as suddenly as they began, the footsteps are stopping. There’s someone at the door. Raising his head up to see the shadow that’s pouring into the cell, it’s no one who he was expecting. Red and white hair standing out against the luminescent glow of the lights in the hallway, slanted amber eyes growing wide as they latch onto Mika’s slumped over form.

It’s Natsume.

As much as Mika wanted to have Shu by his side, he can’t complain with Natsume here to hopefully help hit out of this sticky situation. They’re best friends, so without a doubt Natsume will help him. On the same wavelength, Natsume will believe that he’s not a traitor or a double agent. 

“Nakkun!” Mika cries out, trying to shake free from the manacles but the predicament is still the same; he’s trapped against the wall at the binding’s mercy. Unless Natsume has a key or some way to get him out of this, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be going anywhere anytime soon. “Nakkun!”

“Mika-kuN.” Standing on the other side of the cell door, Natsume peers in with his hands fiddling with the ends of his jacket. Looking from side to side in the hallway as if he’s checking to make sure no one else is near, Natsume’s posture changes so that his forearm is leaning on the entryway. Standing casually as if his best friend isn’t right in front of him chained to a prisoner bench in the basement of a building in a world he isn’t even supposed to be in. Typical Natsume. 

Judging by the way his features are more relaxed, Natsume seems less irritated than he was during the morning meeting. Either he just got over whatever was bothering him in the last fifteen minutes or so, or something good happened that made him forget all about it. Either way, it’s clear that he doesn’t look annoyed anymore. He looks playful, like a cat toying with a ball of yarn. Except in this scenario, Mika can’t help but feel as if he’s the yarn. 

“Why did the Chief bring you down heRE?” 

Oh god. It all happened so fast. One minute he was with everyone upstairs, the next minute Ibara and Shinobu were pulling weapons on him and throwing him in a prison cell. All for simply telling the truth and trying to get some help so he can get out of this living nightmare hellscape of a world. Taking a deep breath, Mika tries to recount the story as best as he can. 

“Nnnh, Nakkun… Should I just start from the top or do the stuff that’s the most important or what Saegusa-senpai flipped out over, or—”

“Just start from the top if that’s easieST,” Natsume cuts Mika off, playfully sticking out his tongue.

“Ah, nnh, okay… So, ya have t’believe me. Yer m’Nakkun, so I know ya will. But… ‘m not from this world.” Looking up at Natsume and meeting his eyes, his charming smile is gone as he draws his eyebrows together. “Ya… ya don’t think ‘m crazy, do ya?”

“... No, I don’t think you’re craZY,” Natsume finally responds after a moment. With a sigh, he puts his palm on the sensor next to the cell and the door opens up. Once Natsume fully crosses the threshold with a step, the panel shifts and reforms to what it once was. Making his way over to the bench, Natsume takes a seat next to Mika, close enough that their legs are practically brushing up against the other. Hunching over, Natsume rests his hands on his thighs before turning his head and giving his undivided attention to Mika. “So… What exactly happenED? You’re not this world’s Mika, correCT? I had a feeling something was oFF.”

“Mmmh, yeah. I never really thought ‘bout it too hard, but I guess it makes sense for there t’ be another me in this world, too. But, yeah, no. ‘m not from ‘ere. Back in m’world, ‘m a high school student. An idol, too. ‘m a part of Valkyrie, the best unit in the whole school. ‘m in it with m’ Oshi-san. Oh! An’ in m’world, the year is 2020. So we’re way back in the past from where ya are ‘ere.”

“I seE,” Natsume mutters. “How did you get heRE?”

That’s an excellent question. A question Mika has been trying to figure out. If he knew the answer already, everything would be a whole lot easier. 

“Errm… Well… If ya want the truth, ‘m not too sure m’self. The last thing I remember is bein’ at an arcade with Oshi-san. The next thing I knew I was in that casino with ya, Nakkun, and ya started draggin’ me all over the place.”

Natsume’s eyes widen in understanding. His face lights up, as if all the gears in his mind are beginning to click into place.

“So  _ that’s  _ why you were dressed like a clown, and why you seemed more clueless than usuAL,” he teases. “But waIT… If you’re from another world, then why are you locked down heRE? Seems like there’s more to the story, nO?”

“Ahhh… errmmm… Guess that would depend on who ya ask. After The casino I was with ya—’m pretty sure ya remember, else that would be pretty weird—an’ then we got back ‘ere, an’ I went t’ that meetin’ an’ then upstairs. An’ then I wanted t’go an’ find Oshi-san but ya an’ Tsumugi-chan-senpai an’ that Harukawa-kun dragged me into a really weird game, an’—”

“HuH?”

“... What, Nakkun?” Mika asks, head cocking to the side as he furrows his brows in confusion. “Did I scramble m’words again or somethin’...?”

“No, you’re fiNE. What game are you talking aboUT? I didn’t play any game with you, Senpai, and Sora last nigHT. Unless I’m having short-term memory loss, which I don’t think is the caSE.” 

Huh. What is Natsume talking about?

“Whaddya mean, ya didn’t play a game?”

“... Exactly what I saID. I didn’t play any game with you guys last nigHT.”

“But… We played a card game t’gether and ya beat everyone. Surely ya remember that, don’t ya…? Ya love t’win, I know that fer a fact.”

“No, I really don’t remember playing any gaME. I definitely would have remembered winning, and I don’t, so by that logic I didn’t play any game with you guys last nigHT.”

This is strange. Mika didn’t hallucinate a card game with his friends, did he? Though he thought that the setting they were playing it in was strange, and he had that headache when he was going to the table… But he’s sure it happened. It felt so real. 

“Well… then where were ya?”

“I was upstairs alone in my roOM. I… didn’t really feel like hanging out with anybody last nigHT.” Before he turns his head away from Mika, Mika can catch a sparkle in his eyes as Natsume’s expression softens. He looks like he might cry. 

“Ah… ohh… Nnnh, Nakkun. Yanno, if yer ever feelin’ sad or anythin’ ya can just talk t’me ‘bout it, yanno?”

“... I’m not sAD. Don’t get ideas like that into your braIN. Or I’m going to have to scoop them out myseLF,” Natsume replies somewhat weakly, as he rolls his eyes. Turning his head towards Mika, he doesn’t make eye contact and instead chooses to stare at the space between their feet. “I’m not weAK.”

“I never said ya were, Nakkun. ‘s okay t’ not be okay an’ t’ ask fer help if ya need it.”

“... Moving oN.”

“Geez, geez, okay. I get it. Talkin’ ‘bout yer feelin’s isn’t really yer strong suit. I’ll just go back t’ m’story then, I guess… Where was I?” Tilting his head back ever so slightly, Mika tries to regain his train of thought. “Ah! Right. So… all of that brings me t’ ‘bout fifteen minutes ago when Saegusa-senpai said that he was gonna punish me an’ Shinobu cuz we were doin’ naughty things yesterday—yanno, things that he didn’t like. He got real mad at Shinobu cuz he was lyin’ or somethin’ like that, so he asked if we were hidin’ anythin’ else from him. So I tried t’ tell him what ‘m tellin’ ya, that ‘m not from ‘ere. But he went an’ flipped out an’ now ‘m in jail or whatever cuz he thinks that ‘m a spy sent from STAR Corp. Which is just stupid cuz I don’t even know what STAR Corp  _ is! _ An’ really… I just wanna get back t’ m’ own world.”

“GeeZ. That’s a stoRY.”

“Wow, Nakkun. Is that really all ya have t’say after I spilled m’heart out fer ya?” Mika jokes, leaning his head on Natsume’s shoulder. At the contact, Natsume shivers and the leg that’s almost touching Mika begins to bounce. Soon, though, Mika’s gentle banter is diminished as his expression hardens. He feels like he’s on the verge of crying, as a sniffle or two escapes his nose. “Ya… Nakkun, do ya think ‘m a spy?”

Natsume draws in a sharp breath as Mika’s tears are no longer able to be held back, spilling out from his eyes along the side of Natsume’s jacket. It’s only a matter of moments before Mika’s breaking down in the cell with Natsume right next to him. And it’s only a matter of moments until Natsume’s exhaling a sharp breath and shakily wrapping an arm around Mika and whispering quiet shushes to him.

“Hey, hey, Mika-kUN… It’s alright, I’m heRE. You don’t have to crY,” Natsume coos, trying to comfort his friend. “I don’t think you’re a sPY. You wouldn’t have gotten caught by Ibara so easily if you weRE. AnD… I don’t know how much I can help, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you get back to your own worLD.”

“T-Thank ya, Nakkun,” Mika sniffles out, nuzzling into Natsume’s shoulder. He’s not Shu, but the touch is enough to keep him calm. To remind him that he’s alright. That even if everything else in the world is a blur, or it’s different, he has a close friend by his side to help him navigate any and all challenges that may arise. And to provide some emotional and moral support along the way. Really… From the bottom of his heart, Mika’s grateful to have someone like Natsume in his life. 

Even if Ibara, Shinobu, and who knows how many other people in LUNAR and the world around them think that he’s a spy, at least he has one person he can count on who believes him. 

“Nakkun…” Sitting here with Natsume by his side, he’s able to easily forget that he’s chained to a bench in the basement of LUNAR. 

That is, until a blaring red alarm goes off and Shinobu’s frantic voice on the PA system blares through the speaker. Shaking both Mika and Natsume from their comfortable positions. 

“EVERYONE: THE PRISONER HAS ESCAPED. I REPEAT, THE PRISONER HAS ESCAPED. COMMENCING LOCKDOWN SEQUENCE.”

“Oh, shIT.”

In an instant Natsume’s standing up from his spot on the bench. In a panic, Mika looks around. He’s still stuck to the bench, but if Natsume can get him out of these handcuffs, then this might be his best chance at escaping. Everyone in LUNAR is probably in a panic, and if he doesn’t go fast the building’s going to enter lockdown. In other words, his shot at being able to escape isn’t wide, but it’s there if he can get some help. 

But… Natsume’s more important right now. This is his world. He needs to be safe, and Mika knows that being stuck down here with him will only be bad news. Natsume will look like he’s implicated in whatever Mika’s being accused of. Plus, with Tori on the loose, things already don’t look good since Natsume seems to be the only non-prisoner in this area right now. 

“Nakkun, get outta ‘ere! Leave m’ behind an’ go!” 

Turning around, Natsume’s eyes meet Mika’s. And with the corners of his lips turned up into a small smile, he walks over to Mika and stands in front of him. Mika’s head tilts up to meet his gaze. Alarms are blaring in the background while red light flashes in and out of existence in the small cell. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Natsume, because it seems to him as if time itself has been stopped. Like he’s entered a different dimension just by being here with Mika, right now where they are. 

“I’m not going to leave you heRE.”

“Nakkun, there’s no time! Just go! Get outta ‘ere!”

“Fufu.” With a smirk, Natsume squats down to Mika’s height. Looks him in the eye, and smiles as a tear slowly escapes his eye and rolls down his cheek. 

“Nakkun… yer… cryin’?” 

Ignoring Mika’s observation, Natsume leans over behind Mika and pulls at his handcuffs. Moving his hand along the manacles and the hook that connects them to the wall, feeling around for something. “Aha!” 

“Eh—?!”

With a flick of the wrist, Natsume somehow managed to unlock the handcuffs—perhaps with a key, or he was able to twist them off somehow. With a clink, they fall on the bench and Mika is able to separate his wrists from each other, relishing at how he has control of his arms again. Looking over at Natsume who looks as out of place as possible with the way he’s smiling in the midst of the blaring sirens and alarms, he’s still crying. 

“Nakkun, why’re ya—mmph!”

Closing his amber eyes, Natsume seals the distance between them as he presses his lips to Mika’s. Mika doesn’t kiss back, but his eyes are wide as Natsume—his  _ best friend— _ is kissing him. This is wrong. This is seriously wrong. This isn’t supposed to be happening, he has Shu and he loves Shu and Natsume’s just his best friend. Pulling back after a few moments, Natsume looks into Mika’s eyes, the flashing lights and screech of the alarm unaffecting his calmness. In a state of shock, Mika gapes at him.

“I love you, Mika-kUN.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHAHAH UMMM... WELLL...... *pushes my natsumika agenda forward but with angst*  
> if y'all see how i updated the relationship tags.... :pensive: sorry natsumika likers this Isn't Your Time   
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sakradevi) | [my other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakradevi/works) | [valkyrieP discord server](https://discord.gg/HFAyXUN) ☆彡


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